“He’s dying,” Kell said with absolute certainty as he addressed the Tribunal. Ever since Stanley’s collapse over a week ago, the man’s condition had quickly deteriorated. Kell had done all he could, taking and studying samples in a fruitless effort trying to find a cure for removing the nanites from Stanley’s system.

  But he’d failed.

  There was nothing left he could do. In a matter of hours, Stanley’s condition had gone from bad to shockingly worse at an alarming speed. The nanites had replicated and absolutely riddled his blood. After in-depth scans, Kell had learned that what he’d feared had come true. Stanley’s organs were affected and shutting down, no longer able to support the internal damage they’d sustained.

  The process had accelerated quickly and induced immense pain in Stanley, utterly paralyzing him from doing anything but scream in agony. Kell pitied the man. Being eaten alive from the inside had to hurt. Kell barely had the time to wonder whether Reya would suffer the same fate while he worked frantically to keep his patient alive.

  As time progressed, Kell came to the grim realization that the only thing he could do was provide relief from the pain. He had no way of stopping Stanley’s death. At the moment, Stanley was in the med bay on life support, resting peacefully.

  Now it was time for Kell to give his report to High Command.

  “We already know the man is dying,” Cirrus said. “What changed that you felt the need to report to us information we already know?” The Tribunal was beyond busy with their preparations. The logistics of retrofitting their entire army with the new engines and weapons they’d developed was an utter nightmare. Combined with the fact that they had to keep their preparations secret, even from most of their own commanding officers, made for high stress all around. They didn’t have any time to waste and Kell was doing a fantastic job of it.

  “His death is imminent,” Kell replied with certainty. “I’ve done all I could with what I have. Stanley’s beyond saving. He’ll most likely die within the hour.” Sometimes Kell loved his job. Yet seeing the price of his failure before his eyes made the situation not one of those times. Along with the added fact that he had to make the report directly to High Command, Kell was not having a good day.

  “You waited this long before telling us our best source of information about the experiments is about to die?” Cirrus said in a low, threatening tone. She was absolutely incensed that they were finding out such critical information so late. There was nothing they could realistically do to wring anymore information from Stanley before he was gone.

  “I’ve spent most of the day trying to save the man!” Kell shot back defensively. “I’m the only doctor available to treat him. It’s not like I have a team of specialists at my disposal so I can miraculously cure him at the last minute.”

  “You’ve done an admirable job with what you had,” Orryn interjected before Cirrus could rip the poor doctor to shreds. “What happened that made the timeline of his death speed up? He was doing fine up until he collapsed a week ago.”

  “I’m not sure and that’s what’s frustrating,” Kell said. “I still have no idea what exactly the nanites are made of, what they’re doing, nor how they’re replicating. Nothing about the situation makes any sense. Stanley’s collapse a week ago was probably the beginning of the end. We just didn’t know it yet.”

  “And you haven’t found any way to flush them from his system?” Cirrus asked. “How hard can it be?”

  “Hard enough that nothing I’ve tried worked!” Kell replied, letting his emotions slip through. He quickly realized that he couldn’t afford a slip up in front of the Tribunal, let alone appear as though he’s rebuking them. That would end poorly. When Cirrus’ expression darkened, he knew he had to think fast. “These machines use technology we’ve never seen before and there isn’t an instruction manual that could help me turn them off. Even though it’s been months now, I’m still no further advanced.”

  Cirrus grumbled something unkind under her breath, and Orryn was glad Kell didn’t hear it. Cirrus looked around towards the other Elders. “I told you all we’d be providing is palliative care for the man.” She focused back on Kell. “That is what you’re doing, right?”

  “Yes,” Kell confirmed. “I’ve given Stanley incredibly high pain killers. I tried something that would have less problems in the future, but unfortunate side effects and addiction problems are the least of our concerns if he’ll never live past today to be affected by them. Right now he’s on a dose so high of our strongest stuff that he wouldn’t live to see the end of the day anyway.”

  “So you killed him,” Cirrus said bluntly. “Rather than keep him alive for questioning, you made sure he’d die.” Every chance they had for more information was robbed of them. She was tired of it and out of patience for more excuses. Ensuring Stanley’s death only meant that they’d forever be stuck relying on Adrian for more information and samples. Something they all knew would never happen.

  Kell shook his head. “I made an executive decision based on the situation.” Using his data slate, he drew up images and data from Stanley’s most recent lab results. He highlighted them and compared them to what a healthy a’vaare should have. “Assuming human physiology is similar enough to our own that these comparisons hold, then right now Stanley’s vitals are so poor that it’s a wonder he’s still alive at all. And these images,” Kell said, presenting new ones, “show just how much damage has been done. The nanites are everywhere. In every organ and muscle, his eyes, and even his brain. He’s a dead man walking. His body can’t function anymore.”

  All the Elders stared grimly at the truth laid before them. In light of what they were shown, they could no longer fault Kell for his decision on how to treat Stanley. “Is there any way we could learn more from him before he dies?” Darros asked. “Or get any other samples?”

  “No,” Kell said. “I’ve already taken many samples today alone and preserved them for future study. The only thing I can do is make him lucid in his last moments so that he can say goodbye.”

  “Is that even a good idea?” Orryn asked. “Why not let the man die peacefully in his sleep?”

  “Wouldn’t you want the chance to say one last goodbye?” Kell asked. “I’m not a saint or a miracle worker, but perhaps he might reveal something important before he draws his last breath.”

  “Which we can’t even understand,” Cirrus pointed out.

  “We could record it and have Ava translate anything Stanley says,” Darros recommended. “I don’t think asking to hear a man’s last words would present an issue for her or for us. I wouldn’t trust Adrian’s translation for this, as he could manipulate it.”

  “So could the android,” Cirrus spat. She was wholly against the idea of using Ava in any capacity beyond her research with Irric and Tassie. Even then, she didn’t trust fully what came from their discoveries when Ava was concerned.

  Darros shrugged. “It’s still the better option of the two. Ava gains nothing from lying to us about that or withholding information from us.”

  “So you say now, before she learns what Stanley’s final words are,” Cirrus retorted. “I agree that the final moments should be on record.”

  “I think we have our course of action for this,” Kaius said. “Sad as it is that we weren’t able to save Stanley, let us at least make his final moments peaceful. He deserves better after all he’s been through, but such was the lot he drew in life. We can’t change what happened to him, but we can put him to rest free from pain. Doctor, please tend to your patient’s final moments with care. Ensure that everything is recorded so that we may go over it later.”

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  Kell gave a deferential bow of his head. “As you command, Elders. I will send the recording to you along with my final report on the situation once all is said and done.”

  “You are dismissed,” Kaius said. No sooner did the words leave his lips did the holographic figures wink out of existence in the room on the ship Kell was in.

  Kell breathed a sigh of relief. He returned back to the med bay to check on Stanley. He was resting peacefully in his bed yet was incredibly pale. Kell bit his lip as he regarded his patient. He’d failed him and soon he would leave their world. Using his data slate, he summoned the entirety of the team to an emergency meeting on the ship.

  Five minutes was all it took for everyone to gather, having dropped whatever they were doing to make haste. Jyn was the last to arrive. “What happened?” he asked, noting the worry on everybody’s faces. He hoped he hadn’t missed anything important.

  “I’ve just given my report to the Tribunal for the devolving situation regarding Stanley,” Kell said gravely. “He’s going to die within the hour.” He had to keep from wincing at the looks of surprise from around the room. He knew his team had full confidence in his abilities as a doctor. To hear that there was nothing he could do for his patient came as a shock to many.

  Jyn took a moment to digest the news. “Is there truly nothing else you can do to help him?” He didn’t want his charge to die. After having seen one of Adrian’s videos, he felt that Stanley was cheated out of what could have been a normal life. While he had no idea what the differences between the experiments performed on him and the ones performed on Adrian, he still felt bad that they had turned out to be lethal. Once more, he wondered how Adrian had survived what happened to him.

  Kell took a deep breath. “No, there truly isn’t. I’ve done all I can. He’s on life support as we speak and that won’t last much longer. The most I can do is make him lucid for his final moments so he can say his goodbyes.”

  The air in the room was grim as the reality of the situation set in. “I’ll inform Reya and Adrian,” Rann said. “If there’s anybody that he’s going to say goodbye to, it’ll be Adrian. Maybe Reya since they took language lessons together.”

  “I’ll leave you to do that,” Jyn said. “Kell, can you wake Stanley up so that we may say goodbye to him?” Regardless of how he may have treated Adrian in the past, he would never disrespect the dead or the dying. The departed would live on in their memories and he knew that this would be the last one he had of Stanley. Alien though the man might be, he still deserved this common decency.

  “I can do that,” Kell said. “Once he passes, I’ll make my final report for the Tribunal. I’ll wake Stanley up once Adrian arrives so that I may explain the situation to him.”

  “Go get Adrian and Reya now, Rann,” Jyn ordered. “The rest of us will stay here until you call for us.” He looked at his team. “We have failed our charge. We were tasked with ensuring his safety and we weren’t able to save him. This isn’t a rebuke against you, Kell. We’ve all seen the long hours you’ve put in to helping Stanley. Let this be a reminder to all of us that our mission has lives on the line. We’ll learn from this and make sure nothing happens to Reya or Adrian.”

  Rann took her leave and went into the house. She found Reya and Adrian waiting for her at the kitchen table. She explained the situation to the both of them and returned back to the ship, giving the couple a moment to process what was happening.

  “It’s finally time,” Adrian said to Reya morosely. “Another one of my fellow test subjects dead because of me.” The news of Stanley’s imminent death was hard for him to accept. Once Stanley was gone, Adrian would truly be the sole survivor of the horrors he’d faced due to the gru’ul, and he didn’t know how to feel about that.

  “This isn’t your fault,” Reya said, placing a hand on Adrian’s arm for support. “The gru’ul are responsible for the experiments, even the ones on Earth. They’re the reason he’s dying.” She knew this would be hard for Adrian to accept, but she truly wanted Adrian to be able to move on once Stanley died.

  While she had to admit that she didn’t know Stanley that well, having only had limited interactions with him during their language lessons, she knew it was different for Adrian. Though he might not like the man, she knew that deep down Adrian felt a sense of kinship with him. He was yet another person who understood even a fraction of what Adrian endured. Apart from her, there was no one else that could.

  “It’s my blood they put in him,” Adrian said morosely. “Whatever they did to me is the reason he’s suffering and dying as we speak.” He was torn. After seeing the incredible technological advancements the a’vaare had, he’d hoped that they’d be able to at least help Stanley. He might not like the man, yet despite the bitterness he had for Stanley given that he’d gotten their fellow test subjects killed and had robbed him of his only chance to avoid his fate, Adrian didn’t want to be responsible for yet another death. He already had too much blood on his hands. He didn’t want more.

  “I know it’s hard,” Reya said softly. “Don’t you think he deserves a goodbye? To have his final moments live on in our memories?”

  Adrian let out a sad, lifeless laugh. “I don’t even know anymore,” he said. He was conflicted, but now wasn’t the time to analyze his emotions. They didn’t have that luxury. “He’s partly to blame for what happened back on Earth. Him dying doesn’t absolve him of that.”

  “It might not,” Reya conceded, “but it won’t matter soon. He’ll be gone. Forever. Take this moment to make your peace with him. Talk to him one last time. Make sure he can rest easy. He was also an experiment, just like you. Don’t let this end on a sour note.”

  Adrian nodded reluctantly. “I’ll go see him. Rann said the others wanted to have a last word with him. I’ll need to be there to translate for them.”

  “It’s hard, I know,” Reya said. “I’m proud of you for doing this. We should go now before we miss our chance. Rann said we didn’t have long.”

  Together, the couple left the house and made their way aboard the ship. Reya took the lead and guided them to the med bay. There they were met with Kell standing outside in the hall, waiting for them.

  “Adrian,” Kell started. He paused. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t able to save him.”

  A beat passed before Adrian responded. “You did your best,” he said. “That’s what matters.”

  “Does it though?” Kell said, frustrated. “It doesn’t change the fact that I still failed him.”

  “I think it does,” Adrian replied.

  Kell could only nod in silence at Adrian’s proclamation. “I’d like for just the two of us to take a moment with him. I want to explain to him what’s happening to him. Could you please wait here, Reya?”

  “That’s fine,” Reya replied. She could only watch in silence as the two entered the med bay, leaving her behind.

  Once inside, Kell went to work and woke Stanley up. By methods Adrian didn’t understand, soon the man was fully awake, as though he’d never been asleep just moments before. Stanley took a moment to look around and get his bearings. His gaze settled on Kell and Adrian. He gave them a long, searching look, perplexed that the two of them were before him with such grim expressions.

  Through Adrian, Kell took the time to explain to Stanley that he was about to die. Stanley’s expression broke when he received confirmation that there was nothing that could be done to save him by that point. Silent tears spilled over at the unfairness of it all.

  After giving Stanley a moment to collect himself, Kell called the others in, one by one. They gave their last goodbyes, each one of them tinged with regret that they’d failed their charge. Stanley didn’t hold it against them. Jyn was the last of the team, followed by Reya then Kell. Once everybody but Adrian had said their piece, the two were left alone in the room for one final moment between them.

  “I guess it’s my turn to join the others,” Stanley said, laughing weakly. “Fate always collects its dues.” His aggravated lungs sent him into yet another coughing fit. He spat more blood in his hands and carelessly wiped them on his clothes, knowing full well he wouldn’t have need of them anymore soon. When he recovered, he focused his attention on Adrian once more. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I didn’t know what the others’ fates would be when we tried to escape. They didn’t deserve that. Can you find it in yourself to forgive me for what I’ve done?”

  Adrian regarded the man, utterly torn. He hated Stanley for what he represented. For what he’d done. For robbing him of his only real chance at avoiding being a gru’ul plaything. Yet the look of desperation the dying man before him gave him as he sought to be absolved of what he’d done weighed on Adrian. The silence stretched as he searched deep inside himself for the answer to Stanley’s final question. “I forgive you,” Adrian lied.

  Surprise lit Stanley’s features but for a moment before his gaze turned peaceful. “Thank you,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. His breathing grew ragged, and he knew his borrowed time was up. “I can rest easy now.” Darkness encroached the edges of his vision.

  Even though Adrian didn’t like the man, seeing another one of his fellow test subjects die because of him brought tears to his eyes. He knew, deep down, that whatever they’d done to him was what was causing such suffering in Stanley. He was responsible for it. “I’m sorry,” Adrian choked out. “I’m the reason you’re like this. Do you have it in you to forgive me?”

  Adrian waited for a response, but the man before him was still, his lifeless eyes staring into oblivion.