The Solar Wind (10 page)

“What are you doing here? What time is it?” She looked back at the small clock on her nightstand. It was 9:30 in the morning. She rarely slept this late.

“How do you feel Ava?” He touched her face and rested his hand on her shoulder. She sensed his concern and knew by the way she felt something was wrong.

“I feel so out of it. What happened last night? All I remember is that I went to a club with some people from the gym.”

“Yes, you did go to the gym last night with some of your so called work out friends, to a club called Labyrinth on Level 8. A man named Sam Benton spiked your drink with combination of drugs. He was intending to rape you,” Wesley explained slowly.

“What! I don’t remember any of that. How could this happen. How could I be so careless and stupid! I don’t believe this. . . I have to notify the authorities!” She put her hand on her head and started to move towards the phone.

“It’s already been done. We took care of it all last night. When we found you at the club, I brought you home while Naomi and Andre caught the bastard and hauled him off to the OCA. The fact that he still had the drugs on him and the evidence from the club’s surveillance video was enough to prosecute him. The OCA is a 24 hour operation and they don’t tolerate crime under any circumstances. He was sent back to the authorities on Earth this morning and will never step foot on Orionis again. You don’t have to worry about him, he never touched you. Naomi said you can still contact the OCA if you have anything else you’d like to tell them, but that it wasn’t necessary since you were not seriously harmed. They are very hands off in clear cut cases like this for budget reasons I assume.” His explanation was upsetting and comforting to her at the same time. She started to cry.

“I knew there was something wrong with him. I’m so stupid. Why don’t I ever I listen to my instincts?”

“You’re not stupid Ava. You were victimized. You could not have seen that coming. It wasn’t your fault.” He embraced her slowly, she accepted it.

“How did you find me? Weren’t you coming back today?”

“Actually we finished up our assignment early and arrived back late last night. It was almost midnight and I didn’t call you because I figured you were sleeping. The crew was hungry and pumped up after a long mission so we decided to go out for some food and entertainment. That club seemed to be the only place open and Naomi suggested that we go in. We were surprised to see you. We knew something was wrong; you were hanging on to that table for dear life, practically hunched over it. The rest you know.”

“I’m very lucky then. Thank God for you,” she whispered in his ear.

Wesley left Ava after a few minutes, promising to return in the early evening to check on her. She wanted to shower, put on some clean clothes, try and eat something, and go back to bed. She had a terrible headache and still felt drowsy. Perhaps this is what happened to Helena Ava thought sadly; unfortunately she had not been so lucky. The shower sobered her a tiny bit. She put on her pajamas and made her way to the kitchen. Not that she wanted to eat much; her throat burned with thirst more than anything. She saw the tea Wesley said Rowan had made for her and poured herself a small glass. It tasted so good, cool, minty, and refreshing with a hint of sweetness among a few other spices. She saw a few other things in the fridge that she did not recognize and pulled out one of the small containers that Rowan must have packed for her. She popped it open and found a small, neatly chopped fruit salad dusted with some spices. She drank some more tea and ate a few bites. The salad’s fresh flavors were a treat. Next to protein, fresh fruit and vegetables were the most expensive things to buy. Ava wondered if Rowan grew fresh fruit on the Andromeda. This was the first time someone had cooked for her since she left Earth. She didn’t feel like eating much so she put the lids back on the containers as she reflected back on her life since arriving on Orionis and went to bed. As she drifted off to sleep again she remembered that she wanted to thank Wesley for her birthday present last week.

Ava woke to the sound of someone knocking on her door. She sluggishly got up and wandered over to it. She checked the security monitor and opened it as soon as she saw that it was Wesley. He walked in carrying some heavily packed re-usable bags, a strong aroma of Italian food wafted in after him.

“I thought you might be hungry.” He smiled at her.

“A little. I’ve been sleeping all day. What time is it?” She felt a little self conscious. He had never seen her sans makeup, with her hair un-styled, and in her pajamas.

“Almost six.” He set the food down on the kitchen counter and hugged her. “How is your head?”

“A lot better actually. At least the pain is gone and I don’t feel drunk anymore, just a little out of it.”

“I’m glad to hear that, I was worried about you all day.”

“I’m sure I’ll be fine after tomorrow. Mmm, that smells good. What’s for dinner?”

He laughed, amused by her sudden change of subject. “Normally I’d offer you a nice wine with a dinner like this, but under the circumstances, I think we’d better stick with some iced tea.”

“That’s fine by me.” She smiled as she went to the kitchen to get some glasses, plates and utensils. He almost had everything unpacked when she returned.

“Did you try any of Rowan’s tea today?”

“Yes, it was excellent. Tell her I said thank you.”

“Sure.”

“Wesley, I realized earlier today that I haven’t thanked you for my birthday present,” she said as they ate.

“You’re very welcome. Happy belated birthday.”

“How did you know it was my birthday? I don’t even think I mentioned it. I almost forgot myself.  And, how did you know I sold my earrings? How did you know where I sold them?”

“You’re very inquisitive tonight.” He smiled. “You’ve been here for six months. I figured your birthday was probably coming around soon. I didn’t want to miss it so I looked you up on the ITO resident directory. All of the registered captains have access to it in case they need to locate someone. It lists your name, place of birth, date of birth, date of residence on Orionis, phone number, and level of residence. I was fortunate. I almost missed your birthday, it’s a good thing I looked. I noticed your earrings were missing last weekend so I decided to replace them. I didn’t think I’d replace them with the exact same pair. Naomi helped me look, she was the one who found them actually. That was just luck. Why did you sell them anyway?”

Ava accepted his explanation of things easily, it sounded reasonable and realistic. She told him the story about her computer hard drive going out and the expense to replace it, breathing a sigh of relief that the issue was behind her.

“I’m sorry that I was gone so long that I couldn’t help you with that. You must have gone stir crazy in here without any entertainment.” He looked around the small apartment. They finished eating, packed away the leftovers in the fridge and relocated to the small couch and turned on the large television monitor.

“Are you flying out again tomorrow?”

“Yes, we’re scheduled for departure at 4 p.m.”

“Of course.” She said softly as she stared at the monitor. She felt reluctant to admit to herself that she missed him, especially him, and also the rest of the crew during the week.

“Ava, do you have any plans next weekend that you need to be here for?”

Next weekend happened to fall on one of the few political holidays that Orionis celebrated. The OMC clinics and most non-retail businesses were closed on Monday. Ava hadn’t really thought about it much, she never had plans except when the Andromeda was stationed.

“No, I don’t think so,” she wondered what he was thinking.

“I know that next weekend is a three day weekend and that you have lived here long enough to be allowed to travel. We have a short assignment next weekend on Capristine and I wondered if you would like to come with us. You could go shopping with Naomi and Rowan while I’m working. After the assignment is completed, which shouldn’t take very long, we could spend the rest of the weekend showing you around some new territory. I’m sure you would have a great time. What do you think?”

She hesitated. The thought of traveling for fun on a starship and exploring a new space station excited her, however at the same time made her nervous. She believed that she trusted Wesley, he was an experienced captain and a good friend, but after her close call with danger last night she had reservations about how much she could trust anyone. Interstellar travel could be dangerous, that’s why the captains and crews of starships were among the most highly paid people in the galaxy. She had no family or any other close friends that could help her out if something went wrong, and she didn’t have a lot of money. In addition, her feelings for Wesley were changing slowly, however she was still hesitant to fall into a relationship with him. If she stayed with him and his crew on the ship, would he take that as a sign she was ready?

“You can think about it and let me know tomorrow if you like,” he must have sensed her uncertainty.  “We would depart Friday evening at 6:30 p.m. and I promise to have you back here by 4:30 p.m. at the latest on Monday. You would have your own quarters and bathroom on the ship. We have plenty of room; I’m sure you would be comfortable.”

“It sounds wonderful. I’d like to go. I’ve haven’t travelled a lot, much less in space. Can I check my schedule and give you my answer tomorrow?” She did not feel ready to explain her real reasons for not accepting the invitation.

“You certainly can. I could come by tomorrow to check on you before we leave. How does that sound?”

“That sounds good.”

It was past 10 p.m. and Ava started to feel tired again. She hinted to him that she was sleepy and wanted to go to bed. Understandingly, he left her to her rest with a simple hug.

The next morning Ava almost felt back to her old self again. As she ate breakfast, Rowan’s fruit salad, she pondered Wesley’s invitation to spend the weekend on Capristine, or “Capri” as it was called. Before being selected by the ITO to migrate to Orionis, she had hoped she would be sent to Capri, or one of the other more modern stations. Due to its flourishing economy, Capri had a reputation for fine dining, theatre, clubs, shopping, and many more luxuries than Orionis. One of Ava’s patient’s had told her that Orionis seemed like a military establishment compared to Capri. Wesley said he had an assignment on Capri, if she didn’t go with them it meant she would have to spend the long weekend alone; the thought made her sad. Perhaps if she paid them for her travel expenses, Wesley would take the hint that she still had reservations about moving their relationship forward. Ava checked her schedule and did not see any reason why she couldn’t be out of town over the weekend. She decided that she wanted to go with Wesley and would ask him if she could cover her own fare.

The day passed quickly. Ava made a quick trip to Infinity for some groceries and then spent the rest of the early afternoon tidying her apartment. Wesley arrived around two o’clock to check on her as promised.

“You look so much better today. How are you feeling?” He said as he walked inside.

“Almost 100%.  I’ll be fine tomorrow, I think.”

“Good. Naomi and Andre say “Hi.” Naomi’s been worried about you. She’ll be happy to know that you are doing well.”

They sat down on the couch angled to face each other and continued to chat amicably. The time always passed so quickly when Wesley was there. After a few minutes he asked Ava if she had come to a decision about Capri.

“I was wondering if I could pay you for my travel expenses and lodging for the trip?”

He seemed a little taken aback at the question. “Ava, I had no intention of charging you for your passage. We are going to Capri for an assignment. I just thought that maybe you’d like to hitch a ride with us and take a break from this place, to get out and have some fun, especially after what happened to you this weekend.” He looked into her eyes as he spoke calmly and softly. She could tell he wasn’t angry or offended, however there was a hint of disappointment in his voice.

“I’m sorry Wesley. I just. . . I have a difficult time trusting people. I want to go with you but I worry.”

“I understand your concern. You don’t have to go if aren’t comfortable with the idea, I’m not going to stop being your friend if you decide not to. However, I don’t think that is the only reason you have reservations about traveling with me.”

He guessed it and as she thought about what to say next he spoke again. “Ava, we’re good friends. That’s not going to change until you want it to. Going on a trip with us will be no different than any other time you spend hanging out with us. You can trust me, and my crew. I promise we will take good care of you, as always,” he smiled warmly at her.

“Okay. I’m in. I would love to go with you,” she said resolutely. She had made up her mind. What will be, will be. She had no reason not to trust him.

“You’re sure? There is zero pressure here.”

“No, I’m sure. I want to go.”

“Excellent!” She sensed his genuine happiness. He didn’t have much time left before he had to be back to the Andromeda for departure and proceeded to fill Ava in on some important details of space travel. He advised her of the online passport forms that she would need to complete for security purposes, and what things she could and could not bring through the hangar security. After taking a few mental notes she hugged him, wished him a safe trip and then he was gone. The next time she would see him would be when he came to escort her to the Andromeda for her first journey off of Orionis. She could hardly wait.