Reya brushed away Adrian’s hand as she rose from the bed, feeling fantastic. “I’m fine, promise,” she said. Adrian’s worried expression didn’t fade, and she reached back for his hand, her fully silver eyes gently looking at him. “It’s been a long time since I last felt this good,” she continued, her tone soft. “I think I’m ready to try walking around.”

  After waking up from the operation several days ago, Kell and Ava had ordered Reya confined to her bed in the med bay so they could keep an eye on her and run tests to ensure everything worked as intended. Luckily, the pair had access to the gru’ul research notes on Reya’s new biology, allowing them to properly monitor her recovery.

  Adrian turned towards Kell, who was seated at his desk going over Reya’s latest medical readings. “Is it safe for her to walk around?” he asked the doctor, fearing that too much activity so soon would risk rupturing her organs’ new internal connections.

  “If she says she’s ready to try, then she can,” Kell replied. “It’s still unclear how quickly her new organs were supposed to integrate with their host. I want you to help her out of the bed carefully.” He glanced towards Reya. “We’ll start small and work our way up,” he told her.

  Reya nodded, even though she knew full-well she could handle the exertion with ease and allowed herself to be helped by Adrian as she brought her legs over the side of the bed and sat up fully. Gingerly, he helped her up and steadied her when she wobbled.

  Her insides felt wrong. She’d felt it while lying in bed but standing only made it worse. The bizarreness stemmed from the feeling that everything felt right in all the wrong places. There was no pain, for which she was thankful for.

  “I think I’m fine now,” she said as she clutched to Adrian’s shoulder for support. Unconvinced, he reluctantly let her go. Reya took several tentative steps to find her balance. Once she was confident, she turned back towards Adrian and walked back towards him. “See?” she said. “I’m fine. I’m ready to leave and go back to the house now.”

  “I’m sorry, Reya,” Kell said, “but you’re to stay confined to the med bay for the foreseeable future.”

  “What!?” Reya exclaimed. “Why can’t I leave?” she asked.

  “The Tribunal ordered me to run more scans and tests on you before letting you go,” Kell replied. “They want to wait a bit, so we know everything truly is alright.” He omitted the fact that he would have kept her regardless so as to properly monitor her health. He didn’t want her dying after everything she went through. It would be prudent to be absolutely certain she was well before letting her go.

  “Don’t I have a say in the matter?” Reya asked. “I’m not military, the Tribunal can’t force me to stay.”

  “Now that the War Tribunal has risen to power,” Kell said carefully, “they can, in fact, force you to stay. I couldn’t let you out even if I wanted to. They have unprecedented powers. Nobody can refuse them.”

  Reya paused. “What happens if I disobey?” she said. “They ordered you around, not me.”

  “Whatever they want to have happen is what happens,” Kell replied. “They can do anything they can think of. I was able to skirt their orders before, but now they are the law. Literally.”

  “Fine, I’ll stay,” Reya decided. “Can I at least get a timeline on when I can leave?”

  “That depends on the test results,” Kell said diplomatically.

  “You could’ve just said no,” Reya said with a sigh. She returned back to the bed and sat down. After elevating the head of the bed so she could comfortably sit up, she settled in. Adrian stayed by her side, and they chatted about small things. Adrian’s relief over Reya’s recovery was palpable, giving her insight into just how worried he’d been for her.

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  It wasn’t long until Kell called Reya over for more testing. He proceeded to do all the tests the Tribunal had asked of him. Once he ran the final scans to assess her internal system, he took a blood sample to compare with the others. Kell hadn’t told her yet, but the nanites inside of her were replicating rapidly and new ones appeared frequently. She was absolutely infested with them, to such an extent that he had to consider them a fundamental part of her. The speed at which Reya’s body had adapted to her new organs was remarkable. Idly, he wondered how much of the original her was left.

  It struck him that he was looking at a fundamentally new Reya as he finished his bloodwork. His old teammate and friend truly had died in that research facility. In her place stood a new being, created by changing one piece of the old Reya at a time until something entirely new stood in her stead. Kell couldn’t help but lament the loss of the person he once knew. He studied her further, not saying anything for several seconds as he reflected on his train of thought.

  “Is everything alright, Kell?” Reya asked. Kell snapped back to attention. “You kind of zoned out a bit there. Is there something wrong with my blood?”

  Kell gave her a long look. “Are you happy now, Reya?” he asked.

  Reya blinked in surprise. “Very much so,” she said. “And now I feel great! I don’t remember the last time I felt this good.”

  Kell nodded. If his friend had changed for the better then he would do his best to support her as she found a new place for herself in the world. “I’m happy to hear that,” he told her. “As for your blood, you’re progressing as you should be.”

  “What does that mean?” Reya furrowed her brows, trying to determine what exactly her progression entailed.

  “Your body is adapting swimmingly well to the new nanites your organs are producing,” Kell explained. “So much so that I’m having trouble believing it. I don’t know how the gru’ul came up with such intricate biological improvements, but to say you’ve been improved is an understatement.”

  “Does that mean the nanites won’t kill me?” Reya asked, her voice tinged with fear. The whole operation had been a shot in the dark, made based on a very shaky theory. While she felt better now, she was still keenly aware that she was still filled with the very nanites that almost killed her.

  “There’s no chance whatsoever,” Kell confirmed, alleviating Reya’s fears. “They’re as much a part of you now as your fingers and toes. You and the nanites are literally inseparable at this point. They will be with you until the day you die.”

  Reya’s short-lived optimism came crashing down on her. “You still haven’t found a way to remove them?” she asked. She wanted them gone. They were a permanent reminder of the ways the gru’ul had violated her just as much as the new organs were.

  Kell shook his head. “There is no removing them,” he said sadly. “Ever.”

  Reya stared at the wall behind Kell, processing the bittersweet news. She knew not how much she’d already been changed by the nanites, but she knew it wouldn’t stop until she was perfect by whatever benchmark the gru’ul considered perfection in an a’vaare. Tears threatened to form, but Reya held them back. She wouldn’t give the gru’ul the satisfaction of breaking her once more. Not after how far she’d come. “So that’s it, then?” she asked. “You’ve given up trying?”

  “Yes,” Kell said with a nod. “Both Ava and I are certain that any attempt to separate you would be both useless and dangerous to your life. We’ve officially stopped searching how to do so. I’m sorry, Reya. I did the best I could with what I had. I wish I could’ve done more.” He hung his head low. “I failed you,” he said sadly.

  Reya shook her head. “You didn’t fail,” she said. “You tried your best. We had no idea what was happening until it was too late.”

  Kell’s face turned bittersweet. “I should’ve detected them sooner. Had I done so, maybe we could’ve prevented all of this from happening.”

  “By that logic,” Reya replied, “everything could’ve been prevented had I not been caught due to my carelessness during our original scouting mission.” She didn’t want Kell to blame himself after all the sleepless nights he’d pulled trying to cure her. The tenacity with which he’d thrown himself into his work had surprised her, and for that, she was grateful.

  “I guess you’re right,” Kell said. He glanced back at his data slate once more. “After seeing your results, I have no real reason to keep you here any longer. You may go when you want to.”

  Reya’s brow raised in surprise. “I thought I was confined here for the foreseeable future,” she said. “What changed?”

  “I’ve done all the tests I need to for now that the Tribunal asked of me,” Kell said. “Even a cursory glance shows me you’re not just healthy, you’re probably the healthiest person I’ve ever seen. Given our extended contact with Adrian, I assume that your nanites won’t spread to others.”

  Kell kicked Adrian and Reya out of the med bay so he could continue compiling Reya’s test results. Once they were gone, he gave Tassie a quick call to send Ava over to help. It was imperative that the War Tribunal be delivered proper conclusions on Reya’s evolving situation. They demanded a debrief in only several hours and he needed to prepare. After the call, he focused his attention back to the many readings he’d taken and dove into his work.