When Avon expressed his desire to have a quiet vacation somewhere by himself, the flight deck became deathly quiet. The idea of Avon requesting such a human thing was so inconceivable that Cally immediately asked with concern, "Are you feeling alright?"
"It's unnatural," muttered Vila. "Are you sure you're alright?"
They were all still concerned about Avon. After three years of being imprisoned and tortured at the Federation Special Detention Centre after Gauda Prime; Avon was still recovering mentally and psychologically. His body was fine now. The rest of him would take much longer.
"I feel fine, Cally. There is no reason to be alarmed. At the Detention Centre, I was never allowed time for myself. I was always monitored." And controlled. Avon's voice was expressionless, as it always was; but whenever he mentioned the Detention Centre, he was always aware of feelings of anger, just below the surface.
"I need time alone," he told them. I need to know if I can be alone.
When they found out where he wanted to have his vacation, it made much more sense. Avon wanted to return to Aristo, the isolated planet where Professor Ensor hid from the Federation; and where they had found ORAC.
"Looking to make a profit from what you find there?" asked Vila sarcastically.
"You should appreciate that," said Avon.
A week later they teleported Avon directly down into Professor Ensor's underground complex. They were all surprised to find the complex to be fully functional and that all of the maintenance machines had continued to operate. There was even fresh produce from the hydroponics bay. The crew took some of it back onboard before they left Avon alone to his vacation. They would return for him in two days time.
Avon was not completely alone. Anna The Kitten came with him.
"I thought you said you wanted to be alone?" pointed out Vila. He had been hoping to spend some time winning over The Kitten while Avon was away.
"There might be rats," said Avon.
Avon and The Kitten had a very relaxing and enjoyable time by themselves. Avon was in his element poring over Professor Ensor's records; and taking apart and putting back together the various inventions. The Kitten had the full run of the facility and amused herself by exploring areas of the complex no human could access.
Occasionally she would bring back items that she thought Avon might find interesting.
Avon had just found ORAC's remote unit when The Kitten presented another interesting item for his inspection. She was trailing a long soft tube of some type of knitted material in a black and grey colour.
Avon took the item, studied it seriously and then deposited it carefully in a pile next to his chair; where he had deposited all of the other items Anna had brought to him. "That's very nice Anna," he told her as he scratched her behind the ears and under her chin. "Now go and play." Anna purred and rubbed her head against his hand. She raced off to do more exploring.
Several hours later, Anna came with another item. This time Avon had completely dismantled the remote unit and was studying its inner workings.
Avon took the proffered item. This one seemed to be a much shorter version of the item she had brought earlier and had evenly spaced red dots on a purple background. Avon took the item from her, looked it over, placed it on the pile and rubbed her on the head. "You're as busy as I am," he remarked. Anna meowed in agreement and raced off again.
Except for breaks for meals, Avon happily tinkered with the remote unit while Anna The Kitten brought back more and more soft tubes.
At the end of the day, Avon stretched and got up from the table. He had been so absorbed by ORAC's remote unit that he had not noticed how tired he was or how sore his back was from the long periods of sitting.
Anna entered the workshop carrying yet another long soft tube. Avon took it from her. "It's time to sleep Anna."
Anna yawned and meowed in agreement. All of her exploring and running about the complex had tired her out. She arched her back and stretched in the manner of cats.
Avon absently deposited the tube on the pile next to his chair. He stopped and looked at the pile; he began pulling items out of it. There were over half a dozen of the long soft tubes. Each one of different sizes, colours and patterns. He had not realized how many there were.
I wonder what Ensor used these for? thought Avon. He wondered if they served an important purpose. Avon sat down at the table again and searched through the database. He found the item.
"These appear to be socks," he remarked to Anna. "They are supposed to come in pairs. Where are the other ones?"
Anna meowed. Avon could have sworn she had shrugged her shoulders.
"Silly kitten," he said affectionately and scratched her head. Anna purred.
"Let's go to sleep," he told her. They headed off to Ensor's former sleep quarters; human and kitten walking side-by-side; tired but content.
The next day was another enjoyable day like the first. Avon put ORAC's remote unit back together. He even added some extra security and defensive features to it. Anna The Kitten continued finding more mismatched socks of assorted colours and patterns.
By the time the ship returned for them, each had a different treasure to bring back with them.
Avon brought back ORAC's remote unit and Anna had a bag full of beautiful lonely socks.