Ava, page 36
part #1 of Secrets of the Ship Series
Onyx hair unravelled from behind the Queen’s neck and rolled down past her shoulders. Her skin was pale and faded, but its underlying violet colour followed the deep fissures that ran through pitted scars. Plasma scarring disfigured her features, but there was something deep within Ava which left her feeling hollow.
“Av… Orn… Ia…” the Queen struggled to speak. Each sound was forced and barely recognisable.
Ava was taken aback. “How… How do you know my name?”
Siramzu remained quiet. Her eyes were wide and laden with guilt. “Ae… Os.”
“Aeos?” repeated Ava, “what are you trying to say? Spit it out!”
Siramzu took a moment. Her sullen eyes investigated Ava’s with a look of equal measures of hope and disappointment. “Sor… Ry…”
“For what! Answer me!” Ava lashed out.
Meco circled the imposing Vanth master, a bass-laden growl rumbled through its powerful frame as it picked up on Ava’s distress. One of the Vanth guarding Ellie stepped away and brought its weapon up to fire but the mechanical beast had registered its intentions and turned to attack. Panicked, the soldiers unloaded a full capacitor, the rounds ricocheting off Meco’s hardened shell as it charged in for the kill.
Siramzu lifted her hand, forcing a pulse of energy to ripple out from her palm. It pushed the air from Ava’s lungs. She clung onto every breath like it was her last. The wave, however, smashed into the leaping dog sending it tumbling into the Ixion’s hold. Its eyes flickered, their colour fading between a state of programmed thought and the eternal shutdown. Its twisted limbs squealed as it tried to push itself up, but it couldn’t, it collapsed back down onto its chest, its eyes fading to a soulless grey.
“Meco!” Ellie tried to move but was slapped to the ground with the butt of a Vanth weapon.
“Your… Friends…?” Siramzu asked Ava who didn’t reply. Instead, she lashed out again, kicking and screaming at the top of her lungs as if some unsung hero would appear from around the corner and save her. But it wasn’t to be, of course it wasn’t. Her situation slowly sunk in. This is what they had come to do, and this was the risk they had taken and taken alone. There was no help coming. There was no backup that was going to appear from out of thin air and save the day. This was it, and if they couldn’t finish the mission then the fate of the galaxy moved closer towards total annihilation.
Ava’s remaining strength drained away. She looked towards the defiant Caesar who held onto the dazed and frightened Ellie. She knew she had to do something; it was her responsibility.
“What do you want?” Ava pleaded. “There has to be something you want. Let them go, they’ve done nothing wrong.”
Siramzu tilted her head, her sharp features softening. “Orb,” she said. “You,” she added.
“You want me? But why?”
“You… Orb… Your friends… Leave.”
Ava glanced towards a lifeless Feelo. A rush of emotions overwhelmed her. Guilt. Despair. But there was an undercurrent of something… More, something warm. In her trance-like state, she unconsciously smiled at the Captain. “Okay.”
“No!” Caesar yelled, “don’t give her anything!”
“But on one condition… Tell me how you know who I am.” Siramzu gently placed Ava down as she fought with something within herself, fluttering between anger and sadness. “Tell me,” Ava insisted, “I know you know something about me and everything I’ve learned up until now… It doesn’t make any sense. I need to know.”
The leader seemed reluctant. The pair exchanged glances before she removed her armoured glove and let it drop to the ground with a thunderous clink. She held out her long, bony fingers revealing a large gash which cut across her palm. Ava raised her hand out and held it inches above Siramzu’s offering. With a deep breath, her hand met the Queen’s and a sharp, intense heat tore through her body.
Suddenly, she was transported to a blindingly white void. She stood on nothing yet stood on solid ground. “Hello,” she called out. Her voice echoed as if in an auditorium, but there was no response. “Hello?” she called out once more, this time feeling the panic coursing through her veins. She swung her head around searching for a beacon, anything to guide her towards something more, something other than the emptiness she not only saw but felt.
“Avornia,” a familiar woman’s voice filled the air around her.
She turned and froze. The woman was taller than Ava, but not by much. Her onyx hair and jade eyes retrieved pictures from her memory. The woman’s genuine, toothy smile warmed Ava, comforted her.
“Who… Who are you?” she asked the question but deep within the answer seemed obvious.
The woman’s soft features and sharp cheekbones lifted as her smile widened. “I’m Basilica von Fastalis,” she said. Her mauve skin became flush as if riddled with embarrassment. “It’s so nice to see you, Avornia, you’re so… Grown up.”
Ava shook her head and paced back and forth. “This can’t be happening,” she spoke to herself, muttering under her breath. “This can’t be real,” she turned to Basilica, “you can’t be real.”
Basilica’s smile weakened. “I understand this is all a bit confusing, but believe me, I do not want to hurt you.”
Ava raised an eyebrow. “Don’t want to or won’t?”
She remained silent before taking a step towards Ava who quickly matched her step back. “Avornia, please,” she pleaded, “come closer, I want to see you.”
“Tell me, I want to hear it come out of your mouth – What’s your relation to me?”
Basilica seemed hurt. Her smile faded and instead was replaced by a concerned frown. “I am your mother, Avornia, how could you forget?”
Ava chuckled at first. But eventually, she broke out into a full belt of rapturous laughter before calming herself. “Forget you? I don’t even know you! How do I know this isn’t some mind trick by Siramzu to stun me while she kills my friends? This could all be some elaborate dream designed to mess with my head.”
Basilica’s shoulders dropped. “I assure you, this is not a dream, it’s not exactly reality as you know it, but it’s not a dream. And your friends… She will not hurt them, not if you comply with her wishes.”
“Her wishes? What’s that supposed to mean? You speak like you know her.”
“There’s a lot I need to tell you, Avornia…” Basilica moved forwards but again Ava stepped back. “I can only hold her back for so long and once my powers wain I won’t have any influence over what she does to you and your friends.”
“What are you talking about!” Ava screamed as the emotion built, “tell me straight!”
“Siramzu…” Basilica swallowed the name like an apple in her throat.
“Go on.”
“She is… Me. I am… Her.”
Ava’s eyes widened as the void around her seemed to darken, it's once colourless white now greyed as reality cracked. “Wh… What? How? No…” Emotions coursed through her mind; she could not process what she felt as a distant denial made its presence felt.
“You know it’s true, Avornia, you’ve known since you first saw us.”
“Us!? There’s two of you now?”
“Not entirely… Our personalities remain separated yet entwined. The process the Vanth used to fuse us was unsuccessful and now we remain in limbo, a Vanth Tarchon purgatory, we are both, yet we are also neither.”
“This is too much for me,” Ava walked away, “leave me and the crew alone. Leave this galaxy and leave us all to our own lives.”
A rush of air swept past Ava as Basilica appeared in front of her. “That’s not possible, Avornia. Humanity has already been spotted and its destruction has been foretold by the Prophets of the Nine. Nothing can stop the tsunami headed for your worlds, not now.” She grabbed both of Ava’s hands and pulled them up. “Retreat to the Tarchon homeworld, save you and your crew. The war is already lost.”
Ava smiled. “You underestimate our resilience.” With that, Ava grabbed Basilica’s forearms and squeezed. Pressure quickly grew and the woman winced in pain but tried to show as little emotion as possible. They locked eyes. Basilica’s pleaded for Ava to stop, but Ava’s glowed like fireflies in a shrouded forest. “This is over,” Ava spoke. Then, with one final crush on the woman’s arms, her scream of pain was met with the false reality crumbling around them.
They reappeared on the station pad. Energy wisped up from Ava like a rain puddle meeting a new Sun. A streak of white appeared at the crown of her head before snaking down her back, leaving a thin stretch of bleached hair. The jade of her eyes bloomed as if lightbulbs had flickered on behind them, morphing them into an ocean blue.
“Ava!” shouted Ellie.
She paid the medic no attention. Instead, her grip grew tighter around Siramzu and the tensile strength of her plated armour weakened before exploding entirely, throwing shards of the black metal in all directions.
“St…op…” Siramzu pleaded, looking down at Ava with remorse, “I can’t… Hold…”
Nothing would have gotten through to Ava. The streak in her hair spread the tighter she gripped before most of her head had morphed into its shining pallor. She ground her teeth together and her skin flushed. Then, she lifted the Vanth Queen off the ground and held her in place as if she were nothing more than a new-born.
“Leave,” Ava’s voice reverberated around the hangar before echoing into the distance.
Siramzu fought against something within. Her expression shifted more than a politician caught in a lie. “I’m… Sorry…” Immediately after the words had been spoken Siramzu let out a chest-thumping roar that shook the ground beneath them. For a split-second, Ava was distracted and this gave the Queen a chance, a chance she took. With her immeasurable power, she twisted her arms around at incredible speeds, breaking free from the Human’s hold before slamming her open palms into Ava’s chest. The Human was sent flying back before she crashed against the landing pad’s walkway and rolled to a stop.
Ava took a moment for herself, sucking in large wafts of air that her suit pumped to her. But she slowly got to her feet, wobbling from side to side before she gripped the railing and noticed Siramzu stood on the pad, staring at her.
“Come and get…” before she could finish her sentence the Queen had morphed into nothing more than a blur which zipped towards her before she felt a strong fist crush into her abdomen. The blur faded before revealing Siramzu standing above Ava, looking down at her with no emotion at all.
Ava crumpled over, holding her gut, but the Queen didn’t stop, she locked her fingers and brought her fists above her head before swinging them down at Ava’s neck like an executioner’s blade. Emotions swelled within Ava, and before Siramzu could react she had sped away, rounding her at incredible speeds. Ava landed a powerful palm against her back, sending the Vanth leader stumbling forwards. She saw an opportunity and zipped in front of her before jumping, her knee fully extended. The sound of bone-crunching against bone brought a smile to her face and the sight of Siramzu collapsing backwards only extended that.
“Don’t get up,” Ava panted, her voice broken, “you can’t win.”
The Vanth drones on the pad opened fire on her. She saw the bolts late but with just enough time to see one heading straight for her head. She closed her eyes expecting the worst, but when she felt nothing, she slowly opened them, revealing the glowing rounds hanging in the air. Time around her had slowed, everything was suspended in a pseudo-stasis that nothing could escape.
“What the hell,” she muttered, looking down at a helpless Siramzu, “did I do this?” She stopped as an idea came to her. If I blow the station now, will the explosion happen once reality returns to normal? Quickly, she searched for the satchel, it had been torn off her and its contents laid across the landing pad. She broke into a sprint, ducking and weaving around the flaming bolts which kindly waited for her to pass. Then, as she got to the bag, reality snapped back to normal and the plasma bolts smashed against the station’s walls leaving black, smouldering craters. “Oh… crap…”
As Siramzu struggled to her feet, Ava got to the ground and rifled through the nearest satchel. Finding nothing but medical supplies, she discarded it to one side. The Vanth drones trained their weapons on her, but a signal from their Queen stopped them from firing, she wanted Ava for herself.
“Ava,” Ellie whispered, “that one,” she nodded towards a satchel across the pad.
Ava scrambled across the ground on her hands and knees as Siramzu’s footsteps drew near. Her hand slipped into the leather bag and grabbed what it could, but she had little time so quickly got to her feet and confronted the advancing Queen.
“Make another move and I’ll blow the gate,” said Ava. She didn’t know what assortment of things she held in her hands, but she held them out like it meant something. The leader came to a stop as if assessing the threat. It gave Ava a chance to take a quick glance at what she had picked up. A stun grenade. A tube of medical gel. And a bandage spray. She cursed internally but still held them out in the same threatening manner, hoping the Queen wouldn’t call her bluff.
But she did. Siramzu stomped towards her, watching as the powerful wisps of energy that had once swirled around Ava, died, soaking back into her skin.
“Stop, or I’ll do it!” yelled Ava. Her intimidating voice had faded, now it wobbled instead as nerves coursed through her body. “Everything you’ve built will come crumbling down in seconds!” Her threats were hollow and Siramzu knew it.
“There is… No… Escape,” the Queen’s booming voice echoed.
Ava threw the junk to the ground and dropped to her knees, digging through the satchel. But she had no time. Siramzu flashed across the gap with incredible speed, landing a boot to Ava’s stomach which sent her flying. She crashed against the Ixion’s hull and collapsed down against the ground, forcing the air out from her lungs.
“Ava!” Ellie yelled.
Meco recovered a spark of energy and tried to push itself up. Its limbs squealed out in pain as the hydraulics and gel which powered its movement and programming leaked across the landing pad. It whimpered, aware that it could do nothing more than try to create a distraction. Its bark was weak, but it drew Siramzu’s immediate gaze. Caesar broke free from his guard, pushing its weapon away while it focused on Ava. He ran towards the Captain’s satchel before grabbing it and rolling away.
“Ava! Catch!”
She pushed off the ground with both arms, struggling against the pain which ripped through her stomach and back. It landed beside her, spilling its contents around her forcing the orb to roll out and come to a stop under the belly of the ship. Ava noticed the Queen’s stare turn towards it, her eyes widening at the sight. She wasn’t about to let the Vanth get it so scrambled towards on her knees, reaching out, clawing at its slippery surface.
But a boot came to rest on its gleaming surface. Ava looked up to a smiling Siramzu who leant down and picked it up, holding it in her palm as if she had just created a new life. She turned back to the drones and held the orb out for them to see.
She spoke to them in a harsh alien dialect. Two seized Ellie and dragged her across the pad, dumping her next to Caesar. Another grabbed Ava by her ankle before dragging her towards the others. They had no energy left to fight. They were weak, untrained, and underprepared. All facts which now washed over Ava. Of course we were she thought, we needed more time… More help.
Siramzu stood over Feelo. She looked down at his lifeless corpse, watching as his chest fleetingly rose and fell. But as she leant down to grab him by the neck a thunderous clap echoed through the landing chamber. It was solitary at first, but after a few seconds, that single clap of thunder turned into a mighty storm.
She turned angrily towards her drones who replied sheepishly. “Human… Armada…” she spoke softly, her voice still carrying over the sounds of constant explosions and tearing metals. She looked at the orb, then towards the crew.
“Now’s the… Time… To leave, I think,” croaked a weak male voice. Everyone turned and saw Feelo pushing himself up.
“Fee!” Ava cried out.
His once ocean blue eyes looked towards the group and they had morphed. Now they glowed a bright jade and his mousey brown hair had whitened. “Leave, you can’t take us all on,” burning energy within fuelled his resurgence.
Siramzu drew a pistol and aimed it towards him. But he leapt from his position, blurring towards her before tearing the weapon from her hands and snapping it in two. “Go!” he screamed at her, “and never come back!” He fought against his body wanting to collapse back and rest, instead he puffed out his chest as if ready to act on his threats. Siramzu took a moment and eyed him up and down before grunting, signalling towards her drones. All of them pressed down on their wrists and were enveloped in a churning black mist. Before long, the clouds evaporated and the Vanth were gone, back on their ship that now powered up across the chamber.
Feelo’s strength left him and he crashed to the floor. “Fee…” Ava crawled towards him, grabbing his only hand, “she had the orb…”
He coughed. “I know…” he went silent, staring into her eyes for a moment longer than he should have. “We need to get out of here. Did you plant the explosives?” She nodded. “Good, come on, help me up.”
Ava struggled to her feet and helped Feelo up. They both held one another, wrapping an arm around each other’s shoulder as they limped towards the Ixion’s ramp.
“How ‘ya feeling, Captain?” asked Caesar.
