The Solar Flare

by Laura E. Collins

  “Wouldn’t you love to live on a planet like Earth where you can get away and not have to listen to anyone’s thoughts but your own?” Kaden’s mind informed him. He could see Draves pondering it.

  “What’s in it for you?” Draves asked him suspiciously.

  “Death to Robinson and his crew and a new beginning for me and mine,” Kaden thought.

  “Robinson is strong and he will anticipate you coming,” Draves managed to speak seriously for once.

  “That’s why I want your help,” Kaden thought.

  “I see how I can be of assistance,” Draves answered.

  “With my firepower, and your ability to know their next moves, we can exterminate them once and for all and claim that planet for our own. Are you in?” Kaden’s mind asked.

  Draves fell silent for a moment and turned away. He rubbed his forehead as if he had a headache. Kaden focused hard to prevent any negative thoughts from forming in his conscious mind. He did not want Draves to feel his irritation at the delay in an answer.

  “I’m in,” Draves answered at last, and then fell into a bout of hysterical laughter.

  ∞

  On Monday morning, Wesley brought Ava to the Kyanos Central Hospital, which served both inpatients and housed the outpatient clinics. Dr. Sullivan had been informed of Ava’s arrival on Kyanos and the two of them were enthusiastic about meeting each other.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to take a little more time off to just relax and adjust to your new home? You don’t have to start working right away,” Wesley said to Ava in the courier as he drove her to the hospital he was so familiar with since he helped build it.

  “The sooner the better. I need to find something to do with my time and energy or I’ll go nuts.”

  “How about part time? Three days is probably enough don’t you think?” He rationalized.

  “Wesley, I’m used to five days.”

  “But that was before, you had no choice. I’d like you to have a little extra time to enjoy yourself and so we can spend some more time together. I hated only seeing you on the weekends on Orionis. Besides, the clinic won’t be as hectic as it was for you at the OMC.”

  “Well, we can see each other every day now,” she gave him a sly smile.

  “Three days.”

  “What about a compromise, . . . four?”

  “I can work with that,” he smiled back at her.

  They pulled up in the parking area of an enormous stone structure with a solar paneled roof. Impressive, Ava thought. They got out of the courier and proceeded inside. Wesley led Ava down the corridor to the outpatient clinics. She noticed that the activity there was much slower than that on Orionis. Once they reached the Internal Medicine Clinic Wesley informed the receptionist that they were there for a meeting with Dr. Sullivan. She nodded and showed them back to his office.

  As soon as he saw them he stood and welcomed them. “Captain Robinson, wonderful to see you again. And this must be Ms. Amherst?” The doctor said, looking at Ava, a mild and pleasant expression on his face. Dr. Sullivan looked to be in his late thirties, with light blonde hair, dark blue eyes, and of average height and build. A nearby digital photo frame flashed with pictures of what appeared to be himself with his wife, much to Ava’s relief, and three elementary aged children; two girls and a boy.

  “I’m pleased to meet your Dr. Sullivan,” Ava extended her hand.

  “Welcome Ava. Captain Robinson tells me that you worked for the OMC for nearly a year.”

  “Yes, I worked full time in the Internal Medicine Clinic.”

  “I understand that was a very busy clinic for you. You may feel a bit bored working for us.” He gave Ava a smile. “It’s a shame, what happened to Orionis.”

  “Yes, I feel very lucky to be alive.”

  Dr. Sullivan continued to ask Ava about her past work experience to gain a feel for what type of schedule she should have and what types of patients she would feel comfortable seeing initially. Then he went on to the research aspect of the position. They were currently investigating some of the native plant life on Kyanos for its medicinal purposes. Then he took Ava and Wesley for a tour of the clinic and showed Ava where her exam rooms and work station would be located.

  “You’ll find that our resources and medications are a little bit different here than what you are used to. We’ll spend some time with you your first few days in the office familiarizing you with our policies and procedures. Most of the conditions you will see will be familiar to you, but since we are on a new planet there are a few viruses and bacterial infections you have not encountered before. We’ll also have to get you scheduled for a physical and perform the necessary vaccinations before you start.”

  “Thank you Dr. Sullivan, I’m very excited about the position.”

  “You are welcome Ava. We are looking forward to you joining our team,” he responded pleasantly.

  Wesley and Ava bid him good-bye, scheduled Ava’s exam and walked back down to the parking area to the courier. Since it was nearly lunch time Wesley brought Ava to one of his favorite cafés. Ava had fun picking out some items on the menu to try that were new to her. Wesley laughed as she made faces, both good and bad for some of the things that she tasted.

  “Ava, would you like to come with me and the others to the hangar tomorrow? We are going to take the Principia up for the first time.”

  “I’d love to see that. Does that mean I’ll be able to be its first official passenger?”

  “Not exactly. You get to watch. I’m not letting anyone travel in it until we’ve worked out all of the kinks and I’m certain it’s safe to operate fully.”

  “I guess that makes sense, but it makes me nervous about you being in it. What if something happens?”

  “Nothing bad is going to happen. We went through the same thing when we built the Andromeda.”

  “Just please be careful,” she persisted.

  He laughed casually. “We will be. By the way, Naomi messaged me. She wanted to know if we would like to join her and Andre for dinner tonight, so that you could see their house. Andre and I need to review our procedures for the test flight.”

  “Sure. It feels strange, like I’m on vacation or something. I feel like I should have to be in bed by a certain time to get up to go to work in the morning.”

  “You will be soon if that is your wish. Ava, you don’t have to work at all if you don’t want to.”

  “I know, but what else would I do with the time? I don’t know the locals or the city. It will be good for me to meet new people.”

  “You are right. I know it will make you happy and that’s all that matters.”

  Wesley gave her a few gentle kisses, and then they were off again. They spent the remainder of the afternoon exploring the city and stopping to get Ava some more of the necessities of life she had left behind on Orionis. It was just after six in the evening when they arrived at the Regnier residence. Naomi came bounding out of the kitchen to greet them, dressed impeccably as always.

  “Come in! I’m so excited for you to see our home!” She greeted both of them with a hug. Andre appeared out of a nearby office.

  “Let me give you the grand tour while the men take care of business,” she said happily, looping an arm through Ava’s to steal her away. The first stop was the kitchen where they acquired glasses of wine and then they were off. The large exquisite kitchen surprised her as she had never known Naomi to be much of a cook. The wonderful aroma of whatever Naomi was making followed them down the halls. Ava felt amazed. The Regnier residence was every bit of alluring as Wesley’s home. She noticed that like Wesley, they also had a large swimming pool and a deck. After the lengthy tour they ended back up in the kitchen where Andre and Wesley had taken up seats at the breakfast bar, eating some of the appetizers Naomi set out.

  “How long have you lived here?” Ava asked.

  “When was the house completed honey?” Naomi asked her husband. “Wasn’t it about eighty years ago or something like that?
”

  “Something like that,” Andre laughed.

  “Wow,” was all Ava could say. Something about hearing that they had lived there for so long made her slightly uncomfortable. After all, she wasn’t even twenty seven years old yet. She looked at the pictures hanging on the walls and in frames over the fireplace. They were pictures of Andre and another woman with children and adults over what appeared to be a long time span.

  “Who is that?” Ava asked, pointing to the young woman with dark brown hair and eyes who had her arms around Andre.

  “That’s me,” Naomi responded, glancing at Wesley, who gave her a slight shake of his head. It was so subtle, Ava did not notice. “That’s who I used to be, however I was injured and almost died several years ago. Fortunately I was able to transition into another body, so here I am,” she explained cheerfully.

  “Naomi, why didn’t you tell me?” Ava asked, astounded.

  “It is a long story . . . one best kept for another day,” she said dismissively, taking Ava’s empty wine glass from her and setting it on the counter in the kitchen. Ava took this as a sign not to press her with any more questions about this topic, so she decided to change the subject.

  “Do you have children?” She asked Naomi once they had settled down on one of the nearby couches in the family room adjacent to the kitchen. Dinner was going to be a few more minutes. Naomi and Andre had never talked about family with Ava before. But that was back when Ava thought they were newly-wed humans.

  They all seemed surprised at Ava’s inquiry. Naomi looked at her husband, and then to Wesley before carefully answering Ava’s question. “Well, yes, but not in the way that you are thinking.”

  “I’m sorry, I did not mean to pry. I was just wondering about the fact that you had all of this space for just the two of you for so long.”

  “No, no, it’s okay Ava. You probably have many questions you need answers to. Yes, Andre and I have raised several children over the years, even before we came to Kyanos. We have adopted three girls and two boys over many decades. Some of our kids have gone on to have families of their own with children, and grand children. And, some of our family has passed away.” She looked sad and thoughtful for a few moments. Ava thought it was strange to think of someone who appeared to be a twenty seven year old woman, as a great grandmother.

  “I’m sorry.” Ava didn’t know what else to say. “Have you always adopted? You have not had any of your own children?” Ava asked shyly.

  “Our energy makes us different than normal humans Ava, as you can now attest to. It would be incompatible to fetal development. The energy is too much for conception. From what our research has revealed, if a female Asterion conceives, it just gets, for lack of a better word, burned up.”

  “That’s terrible,” Ava remarked, surprised by what she had just heard.

  “I guess that’s one of the prices that we pay for being what we are,” she replied softly as she rose to finish preparing their dinner.

  “Can I help you?” Ava asked.

  Naomi smiled at her. “I’ve got it, there’s not much else to do.”

  Wesley came over to the couch and set down next to Ava. “Do you have any children?” She asked him.

  “No. I’ve never actually settled down. I was always on the go. Never had time for that sort of thing. I’ve been hoping that since you and I are together now that we might consider having a family in our future.”

  “You mean adoption?”

  “Possibly. You’re human. We don’t know what can happen in our circumstance. As far as I know, I’m not sure if it’s even possible for us to have children naturally.”

  “I don’t think I’m ready for that.” Ava suddenly felt a little overwhelmed with all of this. She knew she would like to have children someday. But if she had children with Wesley, would they be normal? Wesley observed the serious expression on her face and laughed, carrying her away from those thoughts.

  “I didn’t mean tomorrow Ava.” He smiled and slid an arm around her shoulders and brushed a free lock of hair behind her ear. “One day at a time. Besides, we aren’t even married yet,” he said slowly.

  Ava looked at him, shocked by his comment. Marriage? . . . Yet? Before, when her life was much simpler on Orionis, the possibility of marriage to Wesley often occupied her thoughts. She had wanted it more than anything then. Now that she knew the truth and felt the strong bond between them she could not imagine her life without him, but marriage? After losing one husband she loved, she wasn’t sure if she could go through it again. What if he left her on Kyanos to go about his missions on the stations, and Earth, and something happened to him? Ava didn’t think she could handle that. At the same time, she could not imagine a life not being married to him.

  “Dinner’s ready,” Naomi’s call interrupted her thoughts. Wesley took her hand and the four of them sat down to eat.

  Wesley woke Ava early the next morning by gently leaving a trail of kisses on her cheeks. Since she had moved her things into his bedroom after their day spent hiking they shared the same bed. “Time to get up sweetheart,” he said softly to her.

  “What time is it?” Ava stretched and pulled the covers up over her, not wanting to wake up yet. It had been a late night with Andre and Naomi and she had less than six hours of sleep.

  “It’s nearly six. We have to be at the hangar by seven to meet the others. Today is the big day,” he could not conceal the excitement in his voice. They all had been waiting for this day for a long time.

  Ava slowly pulled herself out of bed and headed towards the shower to get ready. Afterwards she dried her hair, dressed, and met Wesley downstairs for breakfast. He had made her a cup of steaming hot coffee. “Here, I think you need some caffeine this morning,” he smiled as he handed it to her.

  “Thank you,” she took a sip and inhaled the crisp scent slowly. “This is the best coffee that I’ve ever had.”

  “It is pretty good. They grow it not far from here,” he commented. They quickly ate their breakfast and were out the door, headed towards the Principia.

  The hangar buzzed with many people Ava had not seen before when they arrived. They must be engineers, Ava thought. She recognized her friends as well as Trevor and Rochelle Vance. Monitors were illuminated around the room and small indoor couriers buzzed about, transporting people within the hangar. Ava and Wesley walked over to Naomi, Andre, and the others. Wesley kissed Ava for “good luck” and after a brief “hello” with everyone Andre, Ash, and Wesley left the group and walked over to a group of engineers by the entrance ramp of the ship.

  “They are going to walk through the ship one more time and then fire her up,” Naomi commented. “We’ll have to move up to the indoor observation deck when they are ready.”

  “The people of Kyanos are extremely excited about this,” Rochelle said with a smile as she approached Ava’s circle. Trevor had apparently joined the inspection team. “Sometimes it is a hardship to only have one starship to depend on to bring back the much needed supplies or technology here.”

  “I thought that Kyanos is self sufficient,” Ava commented.

  “For the most part it is, we have our own way of life here and we have enough to feed and clothe our people as well as provide medical care. But, we strive to keep up with the technological advances of the rest of the galaxy so we don’t fall behind.”

  “From what I have seen of some of the space stations, and of Earth, I wouldn’t choose to be anywhere else.” Ava remarked.

  “It will also be helpful to have another starship to help protect us from the raids,” Rochelle mentioned off handedly, like it was no big deal.

  “Raids? What kind of raids?” Ava showing the concern in her voice looked at Rochelle, and then to Naomi, who had her lips pursed, apparently not pleased with what Rochelle had just told Ava. Rochelle saw the look on Naomi’s face and fell silent.

  “Rochelle, what raids are you talking about? I thought the ITO didn’t know about Kyanos?” She persisted, looking direc
tly at her.

  Naomi decided that now was not the time to enter into a discussion about Kaden, especially without Wesley there. “The ITO does not know about Kyanos to my knowledge, Ava. There are still a few things that we need to talk about, however this conversation can wait until after the launch,” she said authoritatively looking at Rochelle.

  “But. . .”

  “They are giving the ‘all clear’ signal, it’s time to go up to the deck,” Rochelle said excitedly, changing the subject.

  A few chimes when off, signaling the impending launch and everyone moved to take their places. Once the hangar was cleared, the entrance ramp raised and then the ship powered up. Inside the deck Ava could hear the correspondence between the local engineers, Wesley, Ash, Andre, and a few of the engineers inside the ship. Since Wesley was the most experienced, he would be the main pilot assisted by Ash.

  Another ‘all clear’ signal chimed and the massive doors of the hangar, which was disguised as a crop silo slowly glided open. Ava drew in a deep breath as she witnessed the brand new ship lift a few feet off of the ground and pull up its landing gear. Then, it carefully drifted towards the open doors and outside, where the sun hit it and created a beautiful shimmering silver glare. The Principia hovered for a few moments. From the sounds of the conversations going on, all was well. Then the ship ascended into the sky and began to take flight. This being the first test, Wesley did not want to push it to its limits. This would simply be a short flight to test the maneuverability of the craft as well as the sensors, computer assist, oxygen stability and cabin pressure.

  “Let’s go outside and see it!” Naomi suggested, grabbing Ava’s arm. They ran down the stairs into the hangar and out the nearest door, followed by several other people that were not needed in the flight tower.

  “It’s magnificent!” Ava observed, looking up at the massive ship. They watched as the beautiful new vessel circled the sky carefully. Applause and cheers were heard from the locals who had gathered outside the gates to watch. Then, the ship started to climb higher and higher in the sky until it disappeared.