“South? How can that be possible? We know that they were on Antares.” Andre remarked.
On the way back to Kyanos they had stopped to re-fuel their starship on the familiar station. During their time there, Naomi tapped into the system and reviewed the docking records. After Ava disappeared, a ship with the dimension and description of the Solstice had docked there for a few days, the identity of the owner requested anonymous.
“Why would Xavier dock on Antares after taking Ava? That would mean he changed course after heading south,” Naomi wondered out loud.
“That doesn’t make sense unless he was trying to throw us off the scent,” Andre added.
“Or maybe he did mean to head south but changed his mind,” Wesley interjected. “Maybe he wanted to drop someone off.”
“You mean Bryant?” Naomi asked.
“Exactly.”
“So. . . What do we know of the southern region?” Andre asked.
“Not as much as I would like. Come, let’s descend and get the full report from Vance and Justin.” Wesley’s spirits began to lift for the first time since Ava’s abduction.
A short while later the Principia was safely docked in the main hangar and the Asterions were once again re-united. Those who had stayed behind were shocked at Wesley’s physical appearance. Vance approached Wesley to greet him but was also taken aback by the captain’s transformation.
“Vance, what news of the restoration of the city?” Wesley asked in his usual authoritative manner.
“It’s slow, but progressing nicely. It is good to see you again my friend.”
“Any threats from Kaden?”
“No Captain. Have you found any leads on Ava and the Andromeda?”
“No, unfortunately not.” It was hard for Wesley to hide the disappointment and frustration in his voice. “But, the transmission Justin sent us may provide us with a clue on Ava’s location.”
“I hope so Captain,” Vance said quietly. Even though Vance sympathized with him, it seemed as though he disapproved of Wesley’s prioritization of Ava over the safety of the planet.
“There is always hope,” Justin interrupted brightly, putting a hand on Wesley’s shoulder. “You look terrible.”
“I’ve been better.”
“So I see, come one, the meeting is starting.”
The captain, crew, and high officials of Kyanos gathered in the meeting room to discuss the state of things in the city, the plan for increasing security, long term plans for replacing the Andromeda, and various other things that needed to be sorted out. Wesley listened earnestly to the concerns of his officials and his fellow Asterions. Again, he felt the pull of his familiar duty to his beloved planet and the heartache and guilt he experienced over his failure to retrieve Ava.
Afterwards he, along with his family, went to inspect the remains of the Draconis in the silo where the Principia had been built. The ship had been dismantled and separated into one neat pile of re-workable parts and one large heap of scrap metal.
“We salvaged what we could, I’m pleased to say that it is a lot more than what I expected,” Justin informed them.
Wesley looked at the remains without showing any emotion. “Where are the computers?”
“In the lab, come, you can see them for yourself.”
Everyone left the makeshift hangar and headed into the lab where the Draconis’ core computers containing the “black box” of transmissions had been repaired and restored to limited function.
“Is there anything else on that hard drive worth listening to?” Wesley asked.
“Not really, just what I sent you. Seems Kaden was surprisingly good at erasing it after each flight,” Justin explained.
“Let’s hear it again.”
Justin nodded and pulled up the transmission while everyone listened again.
“So Xavier wanted to head south, but then made a pit stop on Antares to rid himself of Bryant.” Wesley walked around slowly, lost in thought. “Afterwards, he probably resumed his course.”
“What do we know of that is south of the known galaxy?” Andre asked.
“Maybe it’s not what we know . . . but rather what we used to know,” Wesley said mysteriously. “What if we’ve been there before?”
“You mean before we were human?” Andre could hardly hide the surprise in his voice.
“Precisely. I knew I’d visited a planet similar to Earth before I became human . . . but that knowledge was lost in the transformation. I don’t remember where it was. In fact, I thought this was it when we discovered it.” He gestured all around him.
“It makes sense. Maybe that’s why we haven’t run across Xavier very often after all of this time, he’s got his own planet, . . . an extragalactic planet maybe?” Naomi deduced.
“How are we going to search for a planet we don’t even know for sure exists?” Justin wondered. “It could even be a lone space station for all we know.”
“I need to think about this some more. We all should. Maybe something will come to us,” Wesley suggested.
“I think that’s a good idea. Now, let’s all go home and get some rest. We have a few more meetings tomorrow,” Naomi ordered. Wesley turned away, back to the computer, ignoring her. “That means you too Captain,” she said authoritatively. “If we are eventually going on a mission to find a lost world, you need to recover your strength.”
He sighed and acquiesced, though the thought of going back to the empty home he briefly shared with Ava depressed him. “Naomi?”
“Yes?”
“If Ava is all right and Xavier hasn’t harmed her, do you think that she could actually be happy there . . . with him?”
She hesitated before answering. “Ava will always love you Wesley, no matter what.”
He sighed. “I believe you.”
“Good. Now please get some rest.” And with that, she left the lab, leaving him with the computers. He stared at them for a few moments before deciding that it was time to pull himself together for Ava, for Kyanos, and for his family.
Wesley and the others threw themselves into the efforts to restore the city after the attack. The activity proved to be therapeutic for him as it kept his mind occupied. Even after only a few days he began to look and feel better. The clue to Ava’s location motivated him to get back into shape in case he might be up for a fight if and when he found her. He spent long hours studying star charts, trying to decide the best route to his southern mission. Together as a group the Asterions, with some of the engineers, drew up rough plans for building another starship as they could not rely on re-acquiring the Andromeda. A list was drafted for parts Wesley and the crew would need to obtain if they had a chance when they next began to circulate the galaxy looking for Ava.
Chapter 24: Geodesic
Ava chatted with Mrs. Maclaren at the breakfast bar as she drank her coffee, waiting for Lizeth and Emma to arrive. Over the last week they had been teaching her the basics of boating and swimming in the ocean. There was something about the greenish water that appealed to her. The repetitious soothing sounds and the warmth of the water seemed to pull at her. At the same time, James’ comment about the existence of unknown alien marine life living in the water frightened her. The other Asterions did not seem to fear it as nothing large ever seemed to come within half a mile of the shoreline because it was relatively shallow.
In Ava’s time with them, she had the opportunity to go with Melanie, Emma, and Lucas along with several local scientists to view and study a large marine animal resembling a whale that had washed up on one of the northern shores.
After her friends arrived the women passed James, who was heading out to the hangar, on their way to the beach. Ava had grown used to wearing lots of beach wear and the feeling of being practically naked in front of other people had lessened. She did not miss the heavy clothing and boots that she used to wear on Orionis. She also no-longer felt self conscious about it since she was now in better physical shape than before, not that she was in bad shape, but
overall she felt stronger and more toned. He wished them good luck as he headed out the door.
Today Lizeth and Emma were teaching Ava to boogie board and she could hardly wait. Her swimming skills had significantly improved and she wanted more. It was tricky for her at first to learn how to pull herself up and hold on a floating object. She lost her grip and was hammered off almost immediately for the first several attempts. Slowly, she worked up to being able to hang on and ride the waves for a few seconds before falling off again. She couldn’t remember the last time she had laughed and so much fun. She had a long way to go, but she felt determined to master this someday. They called it quits around lunch time as Ava was exhausted and they were starving. Travis served them a delicious lunch on the terrace as they dried off.
Afterwards, everyone showered and got ready for shopping. The concert was in a few days and Ava wanted to get something new to wear. Emma and Lizeth drove in the same Vela while Ava followed in James’ silver one. It was exciting for her to finally have some freedom as she had just taken her test and was issued her own license to drive. She felt she had come a long way in the last several months. They had taught her so many things; a new language, self defense and fighting skills, and now she had a little independence. Eventually as she gained more knowledge of the culture and the language, she might consider going back into the working world. She missed taking care of patients.
The next day the group gathered together at an indoor shooting range where the military trained in order to teach Ava how to handle weapons. She had reservations about it, but James insisted. He said that she always needed to be prepared; especially if she had to face off with an Asterion.
He handed her a small black case containing a handgun that shot red laser bullets, similar to what she had seen the space pirates use on E.S. Number One. He used his own larger gun to demonstrate how to aim, where the safety was, and the indicator showing how many blasts she had left before it was depleted and needed to be re-charged. He held up the weapon and aimed at the target area, which was made up entirely of a black gel-like substance. The target was a giant black and white bulls-eye, also made up of some type of gel. James explained that it would absorb the laser bursts so that they would not bounce off and hit other objects or people.
“I’m not sure if I could even shoot at another living thing,” she said softly.
“You would if you were desperate, or if your own life or one of someone you loved depended on it,” he answered sternly.
Cautiously she held up the gun and aimed towards the target. She pulled the trigger once and one bullet burst from the weapon with a little kick. It was so fast it surprised her. The laser flew through the air and missed the target completely, leaving a small plume of smoke where the energy hit the gel on the ground further away. The group chuckled a little bit as Ava stared in disbelief.
“Here, let me show you.” James stood closely behind Ava and put his arm around her to place his hand over hers on the gun. He bent down to instruct her. “Look through the front sight here to aim. You want to line up the front sight with the notch in the rear sight. The front sight should be centered in the rear sight’s notch. Then the top of the front sight should usually be level with the top of the rear sight. Hold steady as you fire. Pull the trigger once. It will kick back a little, so be prepared for that. If you hold down on the trigger, it will keep firing . . . but we’ll try that later.”
“Okay,” she said with some uncertainty. She stood there with James and looked through the sight as she took her aim with him steadying her hand and pulled the trigger. This time she hit the outer rings on the target.
“Good. Let’s practice this for a while,” he removed his hand form hers and stepped back. She continued to aim and shoot over and over. The others were doing their own target practice at some of the other stations and in some of the other rooms. James had told her that the group regularly practices about once a month to keep their skills up. Even though they lived in peace at this time, they were always prepared to help defend the planet from other Asterions or unforeseen enemies if need be. After what happened on Kyanos, Ava could understand.
As the group finished up for the day Ava asked them a question. “So if I were to face off with an Asterion, how would I know if they were dead? When should I stop shooting? You all heal so fast. . .”
“If you find yourself in that situation, just keep shooting until there is nothing left,” James said simply.
“Nothing left of the Asterion, or nothing left of the ammo?”
“Whichever comes first,” he said authoritatively.
Ava pondered this while James retrieved the case for her weapon. She placed it back inside after powering it down and handed it back to him. He gestured at her. “It’s yours. We’ll practice again next week with moving targets.” She looked at him in disbelief, wondering why he would trust her with a weapon. A few months ago she might have tried to threaten him with it, but now, she had no fear, and did not feel angry with him.
Friday arrived. Ava had not seen much of James or the other band members as they prepared and rehearsed for the concert. Lizeth came to pick her up since James had left early to oversee the set up of some of the equipment. She handed Ava an armband that identified her as a V.I.P. guest with back stage access and front row seating. The outdoor theater had been filled to the brim with people. They sky threatened rain all day but the risk seemed to have blown over. She could not remember the last time she had seen so many people together in one place at one time. The noise and cheering excited her.
Lizeth parked and led Ava past security into the back stage area. The gang seemed relaxed and at ease, sitting back and enjoying a few drinks before the show. James rose when Ava walked in. “I’m glad you’re here, would you like a drink?”
“Sure . . . this is so exciting. I wanted to see you on Orionis when you came, but I . . . wasn’t able to.” She regretted saying it as soon as it was said. That was probably awkward for me to say, she thought, remembering how Wesley had taken her away to prevent James from discovering her. If he felt slighted by that remark, she did not read it upon his face. She didn’t know why, but she felt nervous standing there with him. She took the drink from him and sipped on it, taking in his appearance.
James was back in all black. Dark black boots under black leather pants with a black belt and dark silver buckle. He wore a plain black T-shirt with his cross hanging as usual from his neck. His hair had some slight waves to it from picking up the humidity in the air. They chatted for a few minutes as the opening band played and then it was time for the stage hands to clear it out for Geodesic.
“Let’s take our seats,” Lizeth said as she looped an arm through Ava’s, leading her towards their seats. She, Ava, and Melanie had seats together in the center of the front row. Melanie handed Ava some black ear plugs. “Here, you’ll need these.”
“Why? Are they that loud?” Ava yelled over the crowd.
“Trust me, you’ll be able to hear them just fine,” she shouted with a laugh as she put her own plugs in.
The lights dimmed and the stage went dark. Then, Blayke, Emma, Lucas, Nicholas, and finally James took their places on the stage and started playing. The entire crowd stood, and remained standing. Ava could feel them more than she could see them. The lights gradually came back up as the music picked up. Lights and lasers of different colors, patterns, and images pulsed along with the music. They started out with a strong song and an aggressive pounding beat. The crowd went wild as James started to sing, playing the electric guitar simultaneously. Ava had never heard him sing in person before and was completely spellbound by his voice. The band stayed focused on their performance and at the same time seemed to be genuinely enjoying themselves. Their songs ranged from heavy fast beats with complicated lyrics and chorus to slower, mellow tunes equivalent to what would be a ballad. Blayke and Emma would sometimes sing back-up and chorus. Some songs were completely instrumental. Ava couldn’t identify some of the instruments that
were being played, but recognized several of them from James’ music studio at the house.
Some of the music sounded like what Ava would call “old school” but most of it was more electronic and modern. It seemed that the crowd loved all of it, dancing, singing, and swaying with the beats. Occasionally during the concert James would lock eyes with Ava; otherwise his gaze swept over the audience or was occupied on his instruments as he moved around the stage. She could sense that even though he was performing, he was still perceptive to the large crowd, alert for any type of a threat to her.
After about forty-five minutes, the band re-treated back stage for an intermission. The others re-joined them. Everyone was sweaty and in a great mood. Ava went over to James, who swept her into a quick hug and released her, keeping his hands on her shoulders.
“Are you having a good time?”
“It’s awesome! I had no idea you guys were so good!” She gushed.
“Is there anything that you would like us to play?”
Ava thought for a moment. She remembered the name of the song she had heard at the party with Elaine back on Orionis, when she first heard his voice, and asked him to play it.
He smiled. “I’d love to, what do you think guys?” He looked at the band.
“You got it!” Blayke said enthusiastically, taking a long sip of his water. A few minutes later the audience was back in place and the band began to play again. Several songs went by and they still did not play Ava’s request. She started to think that they had forgotten about it and then James took the mic and announced that this would be the last song of the evening. Ava smiled as she immediately recognized the song she requested. Contrary to what usually happens, it sounded even better in person than on her music player.
After the song ended, the group withdrew back stage and the crowd continued to cheer for an encore. After two to three minutes the band came back out and played three more songs. After the last song ended, James introduced each band member and then finally himself before thanking the audience. The lights went down and the performers left the stage. When the lights went back up, the stage hands appeared and started to take down the equipment. Melanie, Lizeth, and Ava waded through the crowds to join the group back in the V.I.P. lounge. Several other fans who were lucky enough to get backstage passes were hovering over the band.
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