The Solar Flare

by Laura E. Collins

  He looked at her, sensing her need to believe and vanished in front of her. Ava’s jaw dropped and she leapt up off of the couch, looking around for him.

  “I’m here,” Wesley said to her, having appeared in front of the door to the room, some fifteen feet away. Ava’s wide eyes trained on him as he vanished again, this time reappearing next to her. He watched as she backed away, bringing her hands to cover her mouth.

  “Oh my God, you . . . you aren’t lying are you?” She said with disbelief, breathing heavily.

  He held out his hand and the glass of water Ava had brought to the room with her lifted by itself off of the table it rested on and glided smoothly into his hand. He handed her the glass.

  “I’m not lying to you Ava,” he said softly as she took the water from him. She breathed heavily as he put an arm around her shoulders and led her back to sit down on the couch.

  “I also have the ability to heal. When we were on E.S. Number one, we were attacked by marooned pirates while we were repairing our ship. You were safely out of range because you were off looking at antiques but they found you. Long story short, I was shot and had to take a few minutes to heal. You ran out of the hangar and fell through the floor before I could get to you. You could have died, and it would have been my fault. I’m just lucky that it was only your leg that got broken. I was able to heal your leg perfectly, but you have no idea how guilty I feel that you still have pain in it. I wish that I could take that away from you.”

  “Why do I have no memory of this?” Ava asked softly as Wesley looked away.

  “When I healed you, we were not intimate. I wasn’t as familiar with your energy as I am now. So, when I use my energy to heal someone other than myself, it clashes with their own and it’s terribly painful. Healing myself is easy, healing others is very difficult. I’ve . . . killed people trying. You were screaming in pain, and crying. I didn’t want you to remember that so I asked Justin to take the memory away from you.”

  “He can do that?” She found this profoundly disturbing.

  “He has some abilities with mind and memory control. This is also how we just got through security on Capri with no questions asked. From a distance he made them think we had the proper clearance so they didn’t question us.”

  “Yes, I did think that was a little too easy.” Ava looked at the floor.

  “Ava, I’m sorry we did that to you, believe me, our intentions were good.” His voice conveyed his sincerity.

  “What else have you all done to me?” Ava asked, suddenly feeling anxious.

  “Nothing, I swear. . .”

  “What about the blood transfusion that seemed to cure the virus that almost killed me? What did that do to me that I feel this anxious all the time?” She could feel the energy firing up inside her from the anxiety she was feeling now.

  “It is Justin’s energy that you are experiencing. His blood is human, it just carries his energy and you are not used to it. You will be a little bit stronger for a while, and have more energy, but you should return to your normal self in a few months when his blood cells die off and you replace them with your own.”

  “So that’s it. That’s everything?”

  “Ava, there are a few more things that you should know.”

  “I’m sure. . .” Ava’s voice trailed off. This was a lot of information to take in.

  “Ava, I’m not as young as I appear to you,” he said hesitantly, clearly not enjoying bringing up this part of the conversation.

  “How old are you?”

  “When I became human I assumed I would live out the rest of my human life and die like humans do, but I quickly learned this was not to be. I . . . haven’t aged since that day. I have now been like this for 316 years.”

  “Three hundred and sixteen years?” Ava looked at the man sitting next to her, a man who appeared to be somewhere around thirty two years old.

  “Yes.”

  “You’re . . . immortal?” Ava wasn’t sure how much more she could take today.

  “Not exactly. I don’t know how long I can live like this, but I do know that I am the oldest Asterion that has become human. However, if we are injured, and our energy is depleted, we can be killed.”

  “Then what happens to your essence?”

  “I’m not sure. In the few cases I have seen an Asterion die, it is very much like a human death, although, I sensed that the essence sort of floated away, dissipated. I don’t think it would be the same as going back to the way it was before becoming human. It definitely felt different.”

  Ava looked at the floor; tears started sliding down her cheeks. She wasn’t sure what to expect from this conversation. Her home had been blown up, she had left her job, and now the most important person in her life was not what she had believed him to be. She felt as though her fragile world had shattered around her within the last seventy two hours.

  “I know this isn’t easy for you to hear. It’s a lot. Ava, please, all I ask is that you give me a chance. . .”

  “A chance for what Wesley?” Ava interrupted. She tried not to sound angry, it came out sounding more upset. “How can we possibly be together now? I . . . cannot be what you are! You are going to be forever young while I grow old and die. What would our relationship be like when I’m sixty and you’re still young and handsome?”

  “Your physical appearance is only a small part of my attraction to you Ava. Believe me, I was just as surprised as you are now when I first saw you. I have never seen an Asterion matched with a human. We match with our own kind, for life. It’s your energy, your essence or soul, whichever you call it. That is what draws me to you. I sensed your presence the moment The Solar Wind landed in the hangar the day it brought you to Orionis. I was there.”

  “That was you?” Ava remembered how she sensed someone watching her that day.

  “Yes.” Wesley continued, his voice soft now. “I watched you check in with the ITO. All I wanted to do was see you, touch you, and feel your energy. But I couldn’t come near you. You would have freaked.”

  “If you saw me that first day, how come I didn’t actually meet you until weeks later, in The Square?”

  “I wanted to help you. I hacked into the ITO system and learned pretty much everything there was to know about you within an hour of your arrival. I knew your name, when you were born, where you came from, your occupation, the fact that you were a widow. As obsessed as I was, I had a hard time coping with the fact that you were human. It’s not supposed to be like this Ava. I’ve spent my life helping humans, I’ve never had a match, never loved someone. I was supposed to have an Asterion match, like my friends, someone to be with me always. I’ve been waiting for her. I think I was angry initially, like I had been cheated out of something.”

  “I’m sorry . . . you must have been disappointed . . .” Ava began.

  “No. . . I got over it. My friends were surprised but supportive. Ava, I would rather have several wonderful decades with you, than none at all. I feel blessed that after all of this time, I have finally found you. I cyber stalked you for a while, watched you on the security cameras. Learning your habits, your schedule, your route to and from work. I needed to find some way to meet you. People like you and starship captains like me rarely mix socially on Orionis. Believe me, it was killing me inside watching you starving to death. Naomi and the others had to talk me out of just taking you away several times in the beginning. That day in The Square was the best opportunity for me to meet you and present myself to you in a friendly manner. I brought Naomi with me so that you would not feel intimidated, or uncomfortable being alone with me. It was very hard for me not to touch you.”

  “So that static electricity I felt when I shook hands with you was your energy and not static from your ship?”

  “Yes. I’m sorry I lied to you.” He paused and took a deep breath. “We suppress our energy around humans so they do not sense it, however you did. You seem to be very sensitive to it now matter how hard we try. Normally humans don’t feel i
t if they touch me, or so I’m told.”

  “Why don’t I feel it anymore?”

  “Every human carries energy, but on different levels. When we were intimate for the first time on Valentine’s Day, I was able to, for lack of a better term, tune into you. Being that close to you gave me to opportunity to sense your exact level; it’s like tuning into a radio frequency. Now that I know yours, I know where to match it, so you don’t feel it. What’s great is that now that I am ‘in sync’ with you, I can teleport you more easily, or heal you without pain.” Wesley spoke energetically, as if he were pleased with his explanation.

  Ava did not know what to think of all of this. It was almost too much information. She wanted the truth, and he had given it to her. She looked at the floor and did not speak, although she knew he was watching her. It was not too long ago that she had looked forward to her future, with wishful thoughts of marriage and possible children, and now she was not sure what would happen. She felt emptiness consume her. She lost her home, her job, and now the hope of her future with the man she believed she loved. He was not what he appeared to be. The thoughts devastated her. Her life, or the life she knew and the life she had hoped for was over. How could their relationship go on from here? Did she want their relationship to go on? She wasn’t sure at the moment.

  When she didn’t speak Wesley figured that he had lost Ava to her thoughts. “Ava, I know this isn’t at all what you expected to hear . . . “

  “Wesley?” She interrupted him. She’d had enough for one day.

  “Yes?” Her abruptness surprised him, it wasn’t like her.

  “I want to be alone now.” She seemed preoccupied with her thoughts.

  “Okay. . . I’ll walk you up.”

  “No . . . thank you, I just want to go and lie down for a while.” With that Ava got up and silently left the room. All Wesley could do was helplessly watch her leave.

  Ava left the common room and instead of going up to the quarters she and Wesley had shared for what seemed like the longest time, walked down the ramps to the room that used to be her old quarters. She leaned back against the door after it slid shut behind her with her eyes closed. She could not stop the hot tears from coming. It had been a very long time, since perhaps the death of her husband, that she had felt this lost. Slowly, she walked over to the bed and laid down on it, wondering what was to become of her. Wesley remained in the common room, having not moved since Ava’s departure. For the first time in his human existence he feared rejection. If Ava could not accept him, he would have no choice but to let her go.

  Chapter 4: Home

  Ava laid on her old bed for several hours without moving, trying to process the confusing explanation Wesley had given her. As strange as things had turned out, she did not fear him they way that she had only a few hours ago. Ava knew she was upset. This extra energy she carried only seemed to amplify things. She wondered if she were only experiencing a fraction of what Wesley and his crew felt all the time, how in the world could they stay sane? She did not sense anger or hostility from her conversation with Wesley, only his hope. Smugly, her thoughts went back to Dr. Tom. He had been right; he was smart enough to figure it out, too bad for him he’ll never know. She never wanted to see him again.

  She sat up and wiped the remainder of the tears off of her face. I must look awful, she thought, feeling her warm, puffy face. After all that had happened to her in her life, somehow, she always found a way to get back on her feet. She thought of Nathan, her beloved deceased husband. What would he do? He always looked on the bright side of things. Perhaps she could do the same, but she wondered how. How bleak exactly was her situation? She had only a few clothes on the ship. She had her ID badge that was linked to her accounts, but if she used it somewhere on another station, the authorities on Capri could locate her and she could face the consequences of abandoning her job and perhaps worse, Dr. Tom could find her. Even if she did try to start over, she did not have tons of credits saved. The only people Ava could think of to go to were Alexis and Marc on Antares. Surely they could help her. She just felt like she wanted to run far away from everything.

  Ava jumped as a she heard a light knock on her door, pulling her from her thoughts. She didn’t feel like company at the moment, and she knew she didn’t want to see Wesley right now. After all, he had lied to her from day one, they all had. A small part of her understood that, while the rest of her felt betrayed.

  “Ava, it’s me, Naomi.” Her voice sounded muted through the heavy steel door. “May I please come in? I’m alone.”

  Ava pondered this for a few seconds and decided she couldn’t stay in her room by herself forever. “Okay,” she replied softly, sniffing because her nose still ran.

  The door silently slid open, revealing her friend standing there holding a small tray with a few items on it. She looked concerned. Naomi walked in quickly and the door slid shut behind her. “I thought you might like something to eat. Wesley said that you didn’t get to have your lunch today.”

  Ava looked down at the floor and shook her head slowly. She didn’t really have any appetite, but the food started to smell good. She wasn’t sure how to react to her friend. She had always trusted Naomi, even from their first meeting; Naomi had a warm, nurturing ambience about her. Ava watched as she set the tray down on the small desk in the room and turned to bring her a cup with what appeared to be hot chocolate in it. She looked at the clock, 6:36 p.m. The others surely must be eating their own dinner by now.

  “I know that you love chocolate. It always cheers me up when I’m down.” She moved over towards Ava and handed her the cup. Ava gasped as she sensed Naomi’s potent energy flowing from her. It felt warm, like perhaps how the sun would be if she ever stood in it. Naomi walked into the small bathroom and brought Ava a tissue so that she could blow her nose. She sensed that Ava noticed her energy.

  “Now that you know the truth about us, we don’t have to try to hide our energy as much. Normally humans don’t sense it on any level because we subdue it, but you did.” She paused. “You are so special Ava.” Naomi raised her hand and smoothed back Ava’s hair off of her face, an act that surprised Ava, and comforted her. Ava looked into her blue eyes and at her beautiful blonde hair and wondered what the circumstances were of the young woman that had died before Naomi moved in. Her tears started flowing again, she couldn’t suppress them. Naomi sat down next to her on the bed and put an arm around her, rubbing her shoulder.

  “I know you weren’t expecting any of this. The truth is, . . . we weren’t either. I believe that things happen for a reason and I believe you and Wesley are meant to be together, for however long that will be. The two of you need each other.”

  “I don’t understand any of this. It doesn’t make sense.” Ava mustered some control over her tears and concentrated on breathing slowly to calm down.

  “It will. Give yourself some time. No one expects an instant recovery. You can take as much time as you need. All that Wesley, and we, ask is that you give us a chance.”

  “I’m not sure if I can do that.”

  “I can understand how betrayed and confused you must be, but Ava, please remember that you have been part of our family for a long time now, and we have never acted or pretended any of our feelings, thoughts, or actions towards you. We have only tried to protect you, and yes, we have concealed the truth from you at times, but we have kept your best interest in mind. In all honesty Wesley delayed telling you because he was afraid. He didn’t want to hurt you, and he feels terrible now. It’s not every day we form such a close relationship with a human.”

  “I don’t know what to say. My head is kind of a mess right now.” Ava’s voice was flat, not revealing any emotion. She found it hard to look directly at Naomi now.

  “I understand. I will leave you to your thoughts. You are not as alone as you think you are Ava, we are all here for you. However, none of us will disturb you tonight, we know that you need to rest and let all of this sink in. Please don’t hesitate to le
t me, or the others know if you need anything. Andre and I will be right down the corridor, as usual. Take a hot shower and try and get some sleep, it’s very therapeutic. Sometimes things don’t seem so hopeless in the morning.” She gave Ava a reassuring smile, removed her arm from around her and casually walked out of the room, the door sliding shut behind her.

  Ava took a sip of the hot chocolate. It was warm, rich, delicious, and comforting. Rowan must have made this, she thought, Naomi isn’t always so talented in the kitchen. Chocolate is very expensive. Ava rarely could afford it on her own, let alone have the patience to melt it down and mix it into a drink. It was definitely a weakness. A faint smile appeared on her face, then disappeared. She got off of the bed and inspected the tray on the desk, nibbled at a few of the items and then drank thirstily from the large bottle of water after the hot chocolate was gone. She decided to take Naomi’s advice and took a long hot shower to freshen up. Someone had put toiletries, socks, new underwear, and pajamas in the small cabinet in the bathroom, almost expecting her to be there. Naomi must have guessed what would happen after her conversation with Wesley. How well they know me, she thought as she brushed her teeth and went to bed.

  The stress of things had taken a toll and by surprise Ava had a great night’s sleep, with only a few intermittent awakenings. Her mind felt a little appeased. At least she no-longer had to worry about Dr. Tom snooping around or wonder about Wesley’s mysterious behavior. She took a deep breath and got out of bed. She dressed in some new clothes that had been placed in her closet, freshened up, and decided it was time to come out of her room. She couldn’t stay in there and she did feel curious about where their destination was. After the door opened she peered cautiously out in both directions. Sensing no one, she made her way up to the eating area. As she came closer she could smell coffee. They must be eating breakfast now. Ava paused shyly in the doorway. Rowan, Justin, Naomi, Mia, and Wesley fell silent, paused and turned to face her. Ava almost shrank back, not sure if she could handle all of them at once. Rowan smiled brightly at Ava, and started to come over to her. Her wavy red hair bounced softly as she walked and her green eyes seemed to sparkle with hope as she put a hand on her shoulder. Ava could feel the energy flowing off of her, slightly different from Naomi’s.