That finally captures his attention.
“It’s been recovered, with my help,” I add.
“If you think this ovian absolves you—”
“Sir, I did what you asked.”
"So, we have a deal then?"
“I understand how much this means to you, and I know I infuriated you.”
“I’m beyond livid, so if you’re trying to tell me that you ovian fucked this up—”
“I just don’t understand why I have to be the middle man. Ava is her own person, and if you want to talk to her, then you should talk to her directly. She would respect that more.”
“You’re too worried about your ovian cock, aren’t you?” The overlord snorts. “You’re just like all of the others.”
“I don’t know if that’s a compliment, but thank you.”
“It’s not,” he says darkly, “but I suppose that maybe you do have a point. I can talk to Ava myself. It would be a lot easier if she had a chip—”
“We can return to the ship,” I offer. “How does that sound?”
The overlord harrumphs. “You love her, don’t’ you?”
“I want to be with Ava for Ava, and I don’t want there to be anything murky about it. I don’t want her to think that it’s just about getting the device for the Kurians.”
“For the Novans and Kurians,” the overlord corrects, “and if you care for her but think that she might not realize that, that’s on you and is your fault.”
My jaw drops. He has a point, the bastard.
“But I already said I would talk to her, didn’t I? You won’t be the middle man. Don’t you or your cock worry.”
“Ah, thank you.”
“We can talk tomorrow at noon your time,” the overlord instructs.
And he hangs up.
Shaking my head, I walk over to Ava. “The overlord would like a meeting with you tomorrow at noon.”
“That doesn’t work for me,” she says.
“It doesn’t? Why not?”
"Because I have a meeting than with the general."
“About what?”
“The levitation device.”
“I thought you hated the general,” I blurt out.
“I don’t hate him. I misjudged and wrongly accused him, and honestly, he handled that better than I would’ve if the roles would’ve been reversed.” She lowers the centuricmobile to the ground. It lands a little too hard, but only a little. “I suppose the meeting could happen with the both of them at the same time.
“A huge conference meeting,” I muse, rubbing the back of my neck. “That might be for the best.”
And that’s exactly what happens. The general, Ava, and I are all on the ship a little before noon. At the stroke of twelve, the overlord calls.
The overlord greets Ava and then grimaces. “General, why are you here?”
“Oh,” Ava jumps in, “the general requested a meeting at this time before you did. I thought it might be fine to have the meeting together, considering I wish to discuss with you both about the levitation device.”
“Is that so?” the overlord asks.
“I must say that I do not understand why you came to the Novans about it,” the general says.
“Oh? Considering that you seemed so disinterested at first,” Ava says innocently.
“If he’s disinterested, I cannot be more interested,” the overlord states. “We have been having some issues with the water on Kuria, and my scientists have a theory that if we have water on the surface instead of merely underground and in the mesas, that the planet will be much more fertile. But, there’s no way to control where the water will go, so having the houses above ground, maybe on the mesas at first and then even above the land entirely… to have levitating houses and centuricmobiles… it would be an improvement for the planet and for us all.”
“There’s much good that levitation can do here on Earth too, of course,” the general states. “Whatever you want, ask, and it’s yours.”
“Is that so?” Ava asks.
“I can double whatever he offers,” the overlord says.
“I’m not talking about merely money,” the general says. “Not that you have currency, Overlord Nestrol.”
I cover my mouth to hide my grin. The two men are both natural leaders, which, naturally, means they’re butting heads.
“There is much and more to be had than just currency. There’s power and—”
“It’s not power I want,” Ava says. “It’s control.”
“Control of what?” the general asks.
The overlord stares at her critically through his hologram.
“I want to be able to oversee both facilities.”
“Which facilities?” the overlord states.
"If both planets are to have levitation devices, then I'm going to need workshops on both planets. I'm going to have to train workers on how to create more devices. I already have ideas for levitations towers based on the towers that power and spread the internet, General. I might even be able to just adapt a part of the towers so they can be used for both purposes. The levitation won't draw away from the internet at all. You don't have to worry about that. On Kuria, though, the towers would have to be built in their entirety, but that's just a simple matter, especially since the planet is much smaller than Earth. It won't need as many towers."
“You’ll want to supervise both workshops,” the general states.
“You’ll need means to get back and forth with ease,” the overlord states with a smirk. “Let me guess. You want Rix here to be your personal pilot.”
“Yes, actually.” Ava grins at me.
“Like father, like son,” Overlord Nestrol mutters.
“You don’t have an issue with that, do you, Nestrol?”
I cough. Did she just call him by his first name? Without his title first?
But the overlord doesn't seem displeased at all. "I don't have an issue with that, but there is one slight issue. There have been two ships that have been put out of commission. A Kurian by the name of Darra has taken it upon herself to sabotage us. It seems that she was jealous of the Kurian males who have been going to Earth as of late and finding love on your planet instead of here on Kuria with any of the Kurians."
“She was jealous so she sabotaged the ships.” Ava’s jaw drops, and
