The Solar Wind (34 page)

The streets rushed by in a blur, falling debris and running residents everywhere. Ava saw the emergency freight lifts that led directly to the hangar in front of them. The vehicle slowed and came to an abrupt stop in front of the doors, a security check was performed by a few ITO officers while they waited for them to open. Ava wondered exactly how safe it would be to go in a lift when the station seemed to be rotating and falling apart. She looked up at Wesley, standing behind her. He did not look down at her, but watched the doors intensely with his sharp dark eyes as they slowly groaned open. The vehicle slowly moved into the empty space and the doors closed behind them. Then, Ava sensed that the lift seemed to be moving up, sluggishly towards the hangar. The patients in the vehicle, who had been mostly quiet during the fast drive to the lift, seemed to have come to life in the lift. Some were talking to each other, some were crying. They all realized the gravity of the situation. An exploding space station was a night-mare come true. The hoist up to the hangar seemed to take forever. The lift shook slightly unsteadily as it rose. The few functioning lights in the ceiling of the enclosed space started to flicker, and then went out completely with only a few accessory lights on the walls providing some assurance that electricity still flowed. The patients gasped, beginning to panic sensing that they might be trapped there.

Ava, already on edge, jolted in her seat, breathing heavy, when she felt a firm hand on her shoulder. “It’s just me.” Wesley whispered quickly in her ear, leaning down towards her, not letting go of his reassuring grip on her. She lifted one of her hands and placed it over his, lacing their fingers together. She didn’t think he could see the few tears that were streaming down her cheeks. The stress had finally caught up with her. “Don’t worry, we’re still moving,” he said consolingly. It’s normal for the larger lifts to go this slow, for safety reasons. We’ll be at the top in about a minute.”

That minute seemed to take an eternity by Ava’s perspective. Although the lift seemed to inch along, everyone inside felt a noticeable bounce as it came to an abrupt stop at the top. The doors gradually slid open revealing what seemed to be blinding bright light and lots of loud commotion into the peaceful quiet of the lift. The driver started the vehicle and quickly drove towards the drop off point where officers were checking clearance to The Solar Wind. Security seemed to have lapsed a little as they were waved through hastily after a brief check with the driver. Ava felt relieved that no one questioned Wesley, who still hung onto the back of the vehicle.  

The chaos inside the hangar was unbelievable to Ava. Everywhere people were crying, shouting, screaming, running, and carrying various things. Smaller starships were coming and going rapidly. She glanced back towards the security check in point. She observed how crowded and long the line for departure had become. Shots were being fired randomly by the ITO officers to deter violence and frighten the long line of residents to patiently wait their turn to board the rescue ships. Obviously the ITO did not mess around, they meant business and would do anything to keep a sense of order. In the distance Ava could see The Andromeda and some officers talking to Andre and Ash outside. It looked as though they were being given orders to depart. Wesley also followed her gaze. He seemed to know what was going on.

The rescue vehicle rushed towards the Solar Wind and came to a quick stop. Patient care technicians who had reported to work immediately started assisting the patients off of the vehicle and onto the ship. Ava jumped out of the back, Wesley helping her down.

“I need to get an update from Andre. Stay here, I’ll be right back.” Wesley ordered as he took off running towards the Andromeda.

Ava began helping patients off of the vehicle after he took off. It took him mere seconds to reach his friends. Andre stood waiting for him.

“Wesley, we have to lift off now! Orionis is more unstable than it was ten minutes ago. I have a feeling that there will be another explosion soon. In addition to that, the ITO is threatening to bull doze us out of the hangar if we do not lift off within the next ten minutes! We’re powered up and ready. Is Ava coming or not?”

“Ava is here, she had to report to the OMC. Give me a minute and I’ll be right back with her.”

“Wesley, isn’t she supposed to go with those patients?” Andre had to shout to be heard over all of the commotion.

“She’s supposed to but she’s not going to.” Wesley bellowed back at him.

“You can’t force her to come with us, she would resent you for that. She has to do what she believes is right. Believe me, do not give her a reason not to trust you!”

“What does it matter, we are saving her life. I cannot lose her now!”

“She already is saved. She’ll just be on Capri, we can meet up with her later. What’s going to happen to her? She’s really strong right now because of the transfusion, she’ll be all right. Wesley, we have to get out of here. Kaden’s still out there, we have Kyanos to think of. Let’s go.”

“I’ll be right back!” Wesley called back to him as he ran back to Ava, who had just finished helping the last patient onto the ship. Somehow she had acquired an ID badge around her neck, making her presence there official.

“Ava, we have to go now, the ITO is forcing us to take off,” Wesley spoke rapidly to her, almost out of breath.

“Wesley, I can’t go with you now, I have to take care of these people, they need me.”

The chaos in the hangar seemed to slow into a blur around her as she spoke with him, like they were the only two people there.

“I can’t believe this Ava!”

“I’m going to be fine. They will take good care of me on Capri, I will message you as soon as I can when I get settled there.”

Wesley gently put his hands on her shoulders and pleaded with her. “Ava, please come with me now. The only way that I know you will be safe is with me. I need you.”

“I’m sorry Wesley.” Ava felt determined to put a little distance between herself and Wesley until she figured out exactly what was going on with herself and what seemed so unusual about her friends.

“Ms. Amherst, we need you to board now, we are lifting off in five,” a tech called to her.

“Ava, please, I love you.”

“I love you too Wesley, but something is wrong and I need to figure out what it is.”

“No, no, nothing is wrong. What are you talking about?” He answered gently. He couldn’t believe her stubbornness.

“It’s what I have been trying to talk to you about!  . . . Did you know that my leg was broken on E.S. #1?” She blurted out, practically screaming at him, he could tell she was upset. There was a long deafening pause as he realized that she had figured it out “Did you!?” She repeated.

Wesley shut his eyes hard and took a deep breath, he still had his hands on her shoulders. He could not lie to her anymore. He should have dealt with this long ago, however he could not explain himself now, with no time remaining.

“Yes, . . . I knew it was broken,” he said softly, looking into her eyes. He witnessed the surprised look in her eyes as her mouth dropped slightly open when he finally admitted it. “Ava, I promise I will tell you everything, but not here, not like this.”

“When then?”

“Come with me. . . Please?”

“I can’t. I have to go now. I will message you when I get to Capri.” She quickly embraced him, kissed him on the cheek, taking him by surprise and then let go. She turned around pulling herself away from him and ran up the ramp into the ship. Wesley stood stunned as he watched her board the ship, the crew closing the door after her.

The beeping of his PCD signaled him out of shock that Ava had left him. He did not reach for the device, but instead ran towards the Andromeda and up the entrance ramp, which closed as soon as he was inside. Ash did not wait for Wesley to be seated before taking off. Within seconds they were exiting the hangar. Wesley joined Ash in the flight deck.

“Ava’s not coming?” Ash asked, puzzled.

“She’s on the Solar Wind. She chose to stay with her patients.”

“Why?”

“She felt it was the right thing to do. I think that she also suspects we’re not entirely human, she knows she had a broken leg on the abandoned space station.”

“Really? How’d she figure that out?”

“I don’t know, maybe she had an X-Ray or something.” He could not hide the concern in his voice. “Once the ship is a safe distance away from Orionis, stabilize it and, hover for a few minutes. I want to make sure that her ship takes off without any problems.

The captain and crew of the Andromeda took in the terrifying sight of the once powerful space station, Orionis, slowly rotating, its protective gravity stabilizing rings had slipped and were pulling the station down to one side. Flames and smoke were visible billowing out at various places on the station. The lack of electricity on one half of the station made it hard to see, as if it were disappearing in the dark emptiness of space. Starships hurriedly entered and exited the hangar, collecting residents.

“I’m glad Ava can’t see this,” Wesley muttered to Ash. “She would be horrified.”

“They’ve got some time yet.”

“For what it’s worth, the ITO actually did a good job organizing the evacuation. They have saved many lives.” Andre commented, joining the two men in the flight deck.

“Where is Ava’s ship?” Wesley asked impatiently, his voice filled with concern.

“Be patient, I’m tapped into their system, they have just lifted off. Ava’s going to be all right, Wesley. Don’t worry.” Ash reassured.

“How can I not? She is only human.”

“Humans are stronger than we give them credit for sometimes I think,” Andre mused.

The three of them waited patiently as they finally saw the enormous Solar Wind exit the station. Wesley breathed an audible sigh of relief, sensing that Ava was indeed, safe.

“So we are off to Capri?” Ash already knew the answer to this question.

Wesley nodded, his eyes glued to the monitor, showing the uneventful departure of the ship carrying the most precious thing in his world, Ava.

Aboard the Solar Wind, Ava, having permission to move about the flight deck to check on her patients decided it would be best to keep herself busy. She did not want to think about Dr. Tom, who was also on the ship and seemed happy to see her. She did not want to think about all of her worldly possessions that she had left behind in her small quarters, including her only picture of Nathan, her late husband. She reached up and subconsciously touched her ears, reassured that her earrings were still there, and then her hand went to the locket around her neck, reminding her that she still loved Wesley. She could not believe that she had the strength to leave him, but that seemed the only way to eventually obtain the truth out of him, someday. Once satisfied that everyone was stable and settled, she returned to her seat and shut her eyes, wondering what was to become of her.

Chapter 21: The Target

Bryant navigated the dark deep levels of Polaris in search of his target. The second oldest station in existence, it had long ago reached its populous limit and only accepted new residents after the current ones became deceased or moved on. In comparison to Orionis, which followed Polaris, it was a much smaller station and had less of a military ambience than Orionis did. It did not have as much physical industry as Sceptrum, but consisted mostly of a residential and office based employment center of development for software with the necessary medical offices and hospitals built in for the general needs of the station. Because of its large residential districts, the station did have a nice sized theater for plays and musical performances to be held at. With a population of this size, residents necessitated entertainment in order to stay out of trouble. It was here that Bryant hoped to find whom he had been searching for.

The sketchy internet information hinted to a performance by Geodesic at this theater tonight.  Bryant had booked a room in one of the hotels equipped with on online system and tapped into Polaris’ online database, particularly the ITOs security system. He saw confirmed information that the band would hold a concert tonight. He then hacked into the hangar queue system and saw that several ships had recently arrived. Frustration burned through him as the system did not list what ship Geodesic travelled by. He had searched so long and so hard for this person he could not face disappointment again.

Bryant left the hotel and went directly to the theater, now starting to fill up with ticketed customers. He found a deserted corner with no security cameras or watchful eyes and vanished into thin air. He moved quickly through the entrance unnoticed and down into the backstage area where the band and the local stage hands were setting up. He remained invisible for as long as he could, which usually was about seven minutes or so, located another vacant corner and re-appeared. He moved about the back stage area inconspicuously until he sensed he was getting close. Moving faster he came to a door marked in big block letters “VIP Lounge” and entered.

As he walked inside he immediately spotted several Asterions he did not know, conversing with each other, along with his target, sitting at a table with an electronic tablet in his hands. His long legs were propped up on the table and he leaned back in the chair, relaxed. He apparently was focused on watching the news, which currently reported the horrendous explosion and evacuation of Orionis. As he drew near, the Asterions, sensing that Bryant was one of them stopped what they were doing and watched as he approached the table, wondering what was going on. Xavier broke his attention away from the news and peered up at Bryant with his large, oval, brilliant blue eyes and an un-amused, but also un-alarmed expression on his face. He knew he had nothing to fear, there was in fact, very little Xavier would ever have to fear from anything.