The Avalon Chronicles

Chapter Twelve

Ryver did not tell Senna or Des about her suspicions on being followed. But she did tell them about their run-in with Kavo. As she was lamenting that she might have to find a way to do business with Kavo for the thruster parts they needed, her temper started to flare high again.

"Acting like he's some kind of prize," Ryver sneered.

"If it's the only way to get the parts we need..." Senna mused.

"No," Ryver snapped. "No one is having sex with that cretin. He just knows that we're desperate. Probably heard about us from his lackeys that came by the ship. That's why he's trying to extort us."

"Unfortunately, he's got a lot of leverage," Quinn said. "We can get the ship all fixed up with everything else but without that thruster-igniter, we're stuck."

"I'd rather steal it from him," Ryver grumbled. "That manipulative low life doesn't deserve to get his dick wet."

"I'd be up for it if it will get us off this planet that much sooner," Senna said. She shifted her shoulders coyly. "I get off on sleeping with men who don't know I'm playing them."

"Me, too," Quinn seconded with a wink and a smile at Senna.

"No, we are not going to use sex as currency," Ryver said. "That's final." She snatched up her pack and motioned to the interior of the ship. "Let's get started on putting these parts in."

The rest of the day passed easily within the interior of the Avalon. Des was stationed near the open side ramp to keep an eye out for scrappers while Ryver, Quinn, and Senna worked diligently on installing the new parts. Ryver's mood improved the more she tinkered with the Avalon, feeling both relief and exhilaration when the parts would fire up without problem whenever the central power was turned on to check for issues.

The crew sat in the sand outside the Avalon, huddled in the late-day shade as they ate their rations. They did not think about all the parts they still had to get, or how they were going to get to Avalon unburied from the sand, or the fact that they would have to get the ship up and running as quickly as possible to combat the scrappers and their diminishing ration supply. They talked about how fortunate they were to get the parts they could and where they would go once they cleared the atmosphere of Druna.

The navigation computer had been set up once more and they had been able to scan for more nearby planets. The closest planet with a big enough population to guarantee the Avalon's repairs was Hurun, but it was under Laurentus control and the entire crew agreed that, as long as they had Natania on board, it would be better to land on a planet under Corrah's control.

That left them with Piokohl-4, a bustling planet with several large metropolises where the Avalon could be properly outfitted and where Natania could decide if she wanted to go to Corrah while on a planet that was friendly to Sul-yas.

The talk of Natania turned Ryver's attention back to the ship.

"She still asleep?"

"She was last I checked," Senna said, also looking back at the ship. "I wanted to try and give her water but I wasn't sure if she could have any, you know, being made of electricity and all."

"They're not made of electricity," Ryver corrected, standing and brushing the sand from her clothes, holding her ration bag high to keep the granules from getting in the pouch. "They're living beings just like us. They just...have a weird set of abilities."

"Where are you going?" Quinn asked.

"I'm going to see if I can wake her and get some food in her," Ryver said, climbing back into the ship and leaving her crew in the shade.