Ava and Aphrodite: The First Human in 8000 Years (Featured)

Chapter 30: The Ash

Ava was sure of it, that was a Serv Stealth Ship beacon he was detecting. Completely unique to that model. How far away was it? Several miles according to the data it was transmitting, on foot it'd take half a day to get to. He looked in the direction of the signal but found himself staring into almost infinite darkness. Only the slight light from the Sun an eternity away added a tinge of colour to the landscape, the landscape where his friend was lost and alone.

"Are you ok?" Asked Aphrodite, "Hey are you sure that's your partners ship? Didn't she go to the sanctuary?"

"She could've reached the sanctuary before I got here, there was no guarantee we'd reach our destinations at the exact same time. Maybe she found out you weren't there and decided to come here instead." Ava replied, "but I don't get why she'd stay here if she did land here."

An extended silence, it didn't seem like anyone had an answer for that, until-

"Oh! Wait a minute. Locke, what time and date is it now? Could it be-?" Started Aphrodite,

"I understand what you may be thinking Aphrodite. And you're correct in your assumption. This is the plate where the Heretics reside."

"It's the largest plate, and the one with the most visibility from space, it's not unlikely that she'd try and land here, unlike a maverick like you who decided to pass through the clouds like a lunatic."

"Heh." Ava smiled,

"It also happens to be the one that passes over this sector of the scrapyard for the longest time, because of its size and coverage. I guess we lucked out."

"No no, it makes perfect sense." Ava replied, "But wait, does that mean that the ship that I'm detecting is-"

"Yes, where the Heretics live. They must have found it crash landed here and taken it back."

"Meaning Sylvie will be there too... Damn, they better not have hurt her."

"I told you already, the Heretics aren't violent! It's fine." Aphrodite said in a huff, she put her hand to her goggles and clicked a button to the side of it, her face was steely, while it was difficult to see her eyes, it was obvious she was concentrating, "I did implement a 3D map of all the plates onto these, so if we can pinpoint where we are on this plate, I can show you the way to the Heretic's colony."

That was useful, the beacon was weak and it Ava wasn't entirely sure where the signal was coming from. A general direction and distance, but that's it. Half a day's walk, he looked at Aphrodite's feeble body, would she be able to do that? She didn't have much muscle, her posture was strong but moreso out of determination rather than being in a natural state, she was already displaying signs of hunger because of the rumbles her could hear from her belly.

"What're you looking at?" Asked Aphrodite,

"Your stomach, it's rumbling. That means you're hungry right?" Asked Ava,

"Y-yeah. I guess." She crossed her arms and looked away, "Locke did you get some food from the garden?"

Without a word, Locke opened up a hatch in his rear and pulled out a lunchbox, "I had a feeling we'd be here longer than expected," he said, no emotion in his voice, "roasted rabbit and boiled carrots, fresh from the farm," they had a farm!? Rabbits!? Ava had no idea about this. It wasn't very relevant to the situation, but he'd have to ask about it later. It made sense that Aphrodite needed food to eat, but the fact that she'd cultivated her own patch of land to live off of was incredible. He watched as she took the lunchbox with starry eyes and hastily opened it up, she was relishing in the food but trying not to look too much like a pig while eating.