“You need to put this letter here,” Adrian corrected, studying the sentence Reya had written. It had only been two and half weeks, but Reya had improved her English tremendously since beginning her lessons. She’d taken to them with as much, if not more, passion than she took to her music lessons, resulting in hours spent each day focused on improving herself.

  While she was no master, she could already speak some basic sentences. Stanley, in contrast, was struggling far more with learning the a’vaarian language. The best he could do was a smattering of broken sentences using only the most basic of words. He didn’t spend nearly as much time on his lessons as Reya did, a fact that irked Adrian.

  Set up at the desk in the music room, Reya diligently corrected her mistake and wrote a quick note next to it indicating where she went wrong. Although the desk was rather large, Adrian’s equipment took up a large portion of the available space. There was plenty of room for Reya to work comfortably, but not enough for two people to share the desk.

  As a result, Stanley was left sitting on the floor using the small table that had been moved out of the way to make room for the instruments. It was cramped, uncomfortable and sucked all the joy right out of learning. He put his pen down and held back a cough, not wanting the others to hear.

  “Do you think you could at least try to learn the language? I’d like to stop playing translator at some point this year,” Adrian said, levelling Stanley a flat look when he noticed he wasn’t working on the simple exercise he’d been assigned.

  Stanley returned the glare. “I’m trying! This language makes no sense and I’ve never seen this alphabet before. If you’re such an expert, how long did it take you to learn it?” There was a world of difference with how he was treated compared to Reya when it came to just about everything. Adrian’s lack of patience with him was beginning to grate on his nerves.

  “Less time than you,” Adrian huffed. “I’m not asking you to master the language overnight. All I’m asking is that you put some modicum of effort into learning. Reya’s doing a far better job in that department than you are.”

  “Of course you compare me to her,” Stanley grumbled under his breath, thinking Adrian wouldn’t hear him. “I don’t believe that you were that much better than me, so could you spare some patience and let me go at my own pace? You’re like an uptight drill sergeant when it comes to your lessons. Was this how you were taught?”

  Stanley didn’t miss Adrian’s expression cloud over. “Be thankful you’re not being taught the way I was. If you were, you wouldn’t be complaining about my methods. When I made a mistake, I got punished.” His flat tone gave Stanley pause.

  “Punished how?”

  Adrian remained silent for a moment before speaking. “In ways that nobody deserves but they chose to do to me anyway. I didn’t have a choice but to master this language. You do.” With a heavy sigh, he moved from his spot next to Reya and helped Stanley go over the sections he was having trouble with.

  Stanley did his best to follow along, but eventually got tripped up and made another mistake. Even though Adrian said nothing, Stanley could sense his frustration. The door to the music room opening was a welcome reprieve from the difficult lessons.

  Everybody turned to see who the newcomer. “Kell’s ready to talk to Stanley now,” Tassie announced. “Adrian, if you wouldn’t mind coming along to help explain what’s happening before Ava takes over that would be much appreciated.”

  Adrian looked back at Reya, who gave him an encouraging nod. “As long as you respect the fact that I don’t want to learn anything, then I’ll come along,” he said, focusing his attention back to Tassie. “Get up, the doctor wants to talk to you,” he told Stanley.

  “It’s about time!” Stanley replied. He got up off the floor slowly, his knees creaking as he sought not to teeter over. He stretched to loosen his stiff muscles and sucked in a breath at the sharp pain in his side. Quickly, he returned to a normal standing position, not wanting to give away the fact that he was in pain. “At least somebody will finally tell me what’s going on,” he forced out, trying his best to keep his discomfort out of his voice.

  Adrian snorted. “I told already told you that you would learn – just not from me. You’re too valuable to the Tribunal for them to leave you to die without trying to use you first before you kick the bucket.” Stanley leveled him a flat glare.

  “At least they have the common decency to tell a dying person what’s wrong with them.”

  “At least they have the common decency to free me instead of ensuring that I’d remain a test subject,” Adrian retorted. He turned to Reya. “I’ll be back soon – hopefully.”

  “It’s fine, I can work a bit on practicing the bass while you’re gone and maybe we can continue when you get back?” she replied, intent on taking advantage of Stanley’s absence to advance her lessons with Adrian without interruption.

  He flashed her a wan smile. “I’d love that.” Together with Stanley and Tassie, he left Reya behind in the music room and made his way towards the ship. When they arrived at the ramp that would bring them aboard, they found Rann waiting for them, ready to escort the group to the med bay.

  Tassie took the lead while Rann brought up the rear, ensuring that neither Stanley nor Adrian could wander and end up where they shouldn’t be. Adrian didn’t need the guide, having already memorized the way to and from the med bay long ago. Stanley hadn’t been on the ship very often since arriving and was grateful that he had the help navigating the metal corridors.

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  They found Kell seated at his desk, patiently waiting for them. “Thank you for coming on such short notice,” he said after the doors to the med bay shut behind them. “Ava’s going to translate through the data slate, audio only.”

  “No holograms?” Adrian asked. Given what he’d seen of their technology, it took him by surprise that there would be no visuals.

  “After certain events,” came Irric’s voice from the data slate, “Ava is unable to leave her cell for the time being. Given the logistics, it’s much simpler to use audio only.”

  Rann blinked. “What happened?” she asked, causing the others to look at her. “I thought she was allowed out of her cell to do research with you.” She looked at Kell for answers, but the man only shrugged in response.

  “I haven’t been allowed out of my cell for nearly two weeks now,” Ava piped up. “The Elders refuse to let me out for the time being, which isn’t exactly fair given the work I’ve been doing for them. I’m starting to go a little stir-crazy in here. There isn’t much to do.”

  While the others simply nodded and accepted the explanation, Adrian’s face contorted with rage. “Two weeks?” he said in a hard tone. “You think two weeks is enough to be worth mentioning?” The rest of the room turned to face him. “They did that to me for years!”

  “Adrian, calm down,” Kell said placatingly. “Two weeks in a cell is enough to make anybody feel cooped up. She’s allowed to feel that way.” The soothing tone with which he spoke intended to put Adrian at ease but did no such thing to appease his anger.

  “She’s the person who condemned me to my fate and put me in my pod. What makes her think she has the right to complain after what she did?”

  “That thing,” Ava spat, “wasn’t me. I was nothing but a slave to my programming. I had no choice but to follow it. Things are different now.”

  Adrian’s eyes narrowed. “So you had no choice but to punish us?” Ava remained silent, unable to speak as guilt over her past actions welled up and threatened to overwhelm her. “You mean to tell me that,” he said coldly, “was the optimal course of action your programming determined at the time?”

  When she spoke again her voice was very quiet. “I had no say in the matter.”

  “I’m sure Lily felt the same.”

  Back on the flagship, Ava flinched as though she’d been slapped and Irric bore witness. Her eyes welled silver once again. “What do you want me to say?” she said, frustrated. “I didn’t know that what I was doing was wrong. I couldn’t understand what my actions meant. I’m going to have to live with what I did for the rest of my life!”

  “At least you get to live,” Adrian said harshly. There was no forgiveness to be found in his voice. “It doesn’t matter how much you change. I’ll never forget what you did to us – what you did to me.”

  “Could you please enlighten us as to what it is you’re talking about?” Kell asked. He, as well as the others, couldn’t follow the conversation. Rann and Tassie nodded and waited for somebody to fill them in on the cryptic conversation.

  Yet neither Adrian nor Ava did.

  “She knows what she did,” Adrian said. He turned to face Stanley. “This is the part where I leave you. I don’t care what you talk about today, just don’t tell me about it. I don’t want to know why you’re dying. I don’t want to know what it is Kell discovered. I don’t want to know anything. Ava will translate the rest for you so you can have a proper conversation. Try not to sell your soul to the Tribunal in exchange for answers.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” Stanley replied.

  “I’ll be taking my leave now,” Adrian announced. “I trust that you’ll respect my wishes and keep whatever it is you discuss to yourselves.” Without waiting for a response, he turned around and made his way towards the doors to the med bay. Tassie jolted and followed, opening them using the control panels and escorted Adrian off the ship.

  Rann stood awkwardly, unsure whether she should remain for Kell’s safety or if she should leave to avoid hearing classified information. “You should wait outside,” Kell politely ordered. “I’m armed and should anything happen, I’ll call for you.”

  “Right,” Rann said awkwardly. “Let me know when you’re done so I can bring Stanley off the ship.” She left, leaving Stanley alone with Kell for the first time.

  Kell levelled Stanley a clinical stare, wondering how best he should go about broaching the topic of needing more samples from him in order to properly study him. Through Ava, he carefully explained what he’d found in his blood, leaving the poor man dumbfounded.

  “Nanomachines?” Stanley asked. “That’s what you were doing to us? All those injections, all of that pain – just for that? Are you ever going to tell me what the point of all of it was, Ava?”

  “No,” Ava shook her head. “I won’t tell you anything.”

  “Your experiments are killing me and you won’t even tell me for what reason I’m dying? I’m being eaten alive from the inside for fuck’s sake! You owe me an explanation. Why did you do this to me?”

  “I didn’t do this to you,” Ava stressed. “The gru’ul did. I was simply the instrument they used to do it.”

  “But you know, don’t you? Your programming must contain the reason or you must at least be able to infer the reason.” When Ava remained silent, Stanley knew that he was right. Anger at the injustice of being withheld information dominated his thoughts. “This is my life we’re talking about. What gives you the right to take it from me so you can satisfy the whims of your creators. Now tell me the truth!”

  “I can’t,” Ava whispered. “Once you know there’s no going back. The truth will be too much for you to handle. You won’t be able to keep it to yourself and once the others know it’ll be my life they’ll come for.”

  “You selfish bitch!” Stanley roared. “You’re trying to save your own skin after you condemn me to death and expect me to accept that?”

  “You have no choice. I’m the only one with the answers and there’s nothing you can do to make me give them to you.”

  Stanley bit his lip and held back a retort. Kell let the exchange play out, knowing that there was little he could do to intervene in a conversation that he couldn’t understand. When no further retort from either of them occurred, he assumed it was safe to speak. “Unfortunately, this is all I know for now. Your blood sample can only give us so much information.”

  “What else do you need to properly study this?” Stanley asked through Ava. He shifted his gaze from the data slate to Kell, studying him.

  “We need different samples from you,” Kell said. “Hair, urine – that kind of stuff. Maybe let us take a few scans of you to see what we detect.” Ava once again translated, advancing the broken conversation along.

  Stanley drummed his fingers on his chair’s arm. “I want the research you’re doing to be done with the goal of curing me. I also want to learn what you do about my condition. I deserve to know what was done to me against my will.” Ava couldn’t see Stanley, but the hard glare he gave the data slate as he spoke was still felt, nonetheless.

  Kell pondered the request. It was within the bounds of what he was permitted to bargain for in exchange for the samples. The Tribunal didn’t mind sharing the information with a dying man and if they could save him, all the better. “That’s acceptable.” Opening a drawer attached to his desk, he withdrew a small, glass cup and handed it to Stanley. “You’re going to need this.”

  Stanley stared at the cup in his hands. “I won’t provide samples that are invasive,” he clarified in a hard tone. “That’s non-negotiable.”

  Kell nodded. “I don’t think we’ll need anything else from you.”

  “That’s what you said last time.”