“Not to fuck you,” I joke.
I shudder as I recall that my dad did that with my mom.
Ava narrows her eyes. “What?”
“Nothing.” I shake my head. “You don’t want to know.”
“I don’t. You’re right.” She heaves a sigh, and her shoulders slump.
I don’t ask. There’s no point. She won’t answer.
“I came here because I…” Ava starts and then stops. Right when I think she won’t continue, she adds, “I need a certain piece of equipment. I need…”
“What?” I prompt.
“I don’t even know. I need cables that can carry a coolant and have it kept separate from the robotics. And… here’s the issue I need an element that I don’t know exists.”
“What do you need this element to do?”
“It needs to create a gravitational field basically. Long story short.”
I frown. “Magnets would be the easiest way.”
"I thought about that, but that's not possible, not for the amount of force that I would need. It can't be generated, not with the technology humans have now."
“No, but if you use a plasma morpher, that might help to increase the field that the magnets alone make.”
“I already said that the magnets aren’t enough, but if I were to get my hands on a plasma morpher, I might be able to modify it so that together with my anion preciever…” She rubs her chin.
“An anion preciever?” I ask. “I’ve never heard of it.”
“It’s something I invented. It causes the ions in an element to shrink down so that a part of it will become weightless, but where all those ions gather contains all of the weight then. A plasma morpher… yes, that could work. With modifications, of course, but yes!”
Just like that, the fire is back in her eyes. She’s thrilled, and that makes me happy. My chest is light.
“I knew I could help you,” I say, pleased. “I promise I will.”
She makes a scoffing sound. “I don’t want your help. I just need to get my hands on a plasma morpher.” She eyes me. “Do you have one on board?”
“No.”
“Damn. Of course not. I was going to see if I could barter for one.”
"For an anion preciever, maybe?"
She scowls at me. “Of course not,” she repeats much angrier than before. “I only have the one. Can I make more? Yes, but that would take time and equipment that I don’t have easily available right now.”
I eye her, waiting, watching, wondering what she’s thinking because I can tell that she’s trying to figure things out.
“The machines you brought along, do any of them contain a plasma morpher?” she asks, but even her tone contains a thread of doubt.
“No.”
“Of course not.” She sighs.
“Maybe you’re the one with the limited vocabulary,” I say lightly to tease her.
She eyes me. “When you’re used to disappointment and the world knocking you down from every ladder you’ve ever had the courage to dare to start climbing… you get used to the universe telling you no and fighting you at every turn.”
“But that should also help you to roll with the punches, right?”
“I’m not going to spar you.”
I grin. “That’s your loss.”
“You would kill me!”
“I can be gentle when I want to be.”
She snorts. “I doubt that.”
“It’s the truth, but you don’t have to believe me.” I shrug, still waiting.
“I don’t think I can replicate a plasma morpher.” She bites her lower lip. “Do you know enough about the part to be able to?”
I say nothing.
“I would find a way to pay you. Work out a barter. We can come to an understanding.”
Ovian, she's enchanting. There's no other word for it. The women brought to Kuria, the women here… None of them have her fire, her passion, her spunk. She's unique and not just because of her purple and silver hair, which I absolutely love and wish I could touch and brush back. It falls in gentle waves, brushing her shoulders, not long enough to stay behind them.
“Well?” she demands. “Do you think you can help me or not?”
“I already promised to help you.”
“That’s the thing. I don’t really want help. I just want the part.” She rubs the back of her neck. “I’ll figure something out,” she mumbles to herself. “I always do.”
I clear my throat. "There might be a few places I haven't shown you yet on the ship."
“That’s all right. I’ve seen it already.”
I stare at her blankly. “You have?”
“I’m not interested. Thanks, though. I need to go and see if I can…” She brushes past me, and she hightails it off the ship.
Amused more than anything, I follow, standing on the bottom of the ramp, watching her walk away. Her hair bounces with every step, and she looks so happy, so joyful. Her energy level is sky-high compared to earlier.
She’s driven and passionate. I have a feeling most people don’t know her all that well. Fuck, I don’t either. All I know is that she’s jaded, very jaded. Something must’ve happened to her to make her like this, and it frustrates me to no end. People shouldn’t mistreat each other. There’s no excuse for people to be assholes. She’s an amazing woman, and she deserves to be treated that way.
A plasma morpher. She can’t get her hands on one, not without connections. As far as I know, only her government has access to one.
Lucky for her, I have connections.
Even luckier for her, I have other things on this ship that might not interest her but might interest the government.
Yes, I’m treading dangerous ground here because I’m not entirely certain that the overlord would be the most pleased about this. I don’t honestly care. Anyone who comes to Earth from Kuria is supposed to ensure that relations between Earthlings and Kurians and Novans are good. What better way to ensure that than to make the one Earthling I know who is unhappy happy? More than just giving her an idea for whatever project she’s working on.
She might not have access to barter for what she needs, but I do.
It
