The Day The Humans Came

No Gas

***Ava's POV

   "Ava! I need your help with something." I look up from my task to see Sargent Milo standing in front of me. That's not his real name, but it's what I call him.

   Milo has wavy, light brown hair that went well with his warm, brown eyes that reminds me of melted chocolate, he's tall and muscular and really attractive, but he's practically my dad so that's kind of gross.

   "Hey, Sargent Milo! What's up?" I grin up at him, flashing my perfectly white teeth. I didn't always care so much on how I looked, but hygiene is important to me.

   "Don't call me that." His warm smile tells me that he doesn't mean it. I know that he loves my nickname for him, whether or not he admits it.

   "Aww, you love it and you know it." I get up and hug him, squeezing him tightly. My parents died when I was little, my father from sickness and my mother from giving birth to me, and he had sorta adopted me. He had been a close friend of my parents. He was like my dad in the ways that counted for the past seventeen years.

   "I need to you to come with me, now." I can see in his eyes that he's worried about something and I sober up real quick. He was never worried. Milo is always confident about everything. Sure, he got a little nervous sometimes, especially when it came to me, but never worried. It just isn't him.

   "What's wrong?" He avoids my eyes and grabs my arm gently, pulling me towards the small conference room we had.

   "Come on, you need to come with me. There's something we need to talk to you about." His eyes dart around the empty hall way. As if sensing someone eaves dropping in on us.

   "Riley?" The use of his real name out of my lips makes him flinch, I only use it when I'm scared or something is wrong and he knows that. "What's wrong? Did I do something?" He also knew that I was always worried about disappointing him, I always have been. 

   "No." He immediately turns round and grabs both of my arms, looking me in the eyes. "Listen to me. You didn't do anything wrong. That isn't what this is about, I promise you. I would tell you if it was, you know that. I love you, Ava. You're my girl." He pulls me to him and I wrap my arms around him.

   "I love you, too." Milo was only thirty five and had been eighteen when he took me on as his own, but he was my father all the same and I loved him like one.

   "Now, come on, we're going to be late." He gently takes my hand and starts leading me to the conference room again.

   When we enter, I see that that Council was gathered. This is anyone on the ship that held any sort of rank on the ship. As soon as they notice us, they fall silent.

   "Sargent Riley, Ava, please sit. There is something we need to talk to you about, Ava. Nothing bad, I assure you. We just need you to do us a small favor." Commander Mark says as Milo leads me to a seat and sits down beside me.

   "What's wrong, Commander?" I ask, concern lacing my voice. Rarely did the Council gather. 

   "You get along rather well with all of residents here, correct?" I blink at that. He knows that I do.

   "Well, I suppose so. I mean, there isn't anyone I have a problem with and I don't think anyone has a problem with me."

   "And you are good at getting people to stay calm. You showed that a few years ago when everyone got it into their heads that we were out of oxygen."

   I nod. That had been ridiculous.

   "Well, then we were correct to come to you. We need you to tell everyone something and make sure that they are calm." I gulp. This couldn't be good. I glance over at Riley. His eyes are glued to the Commander. I return my eyes to him.