Kaius stared out the window of his penthouse suite and into the night. He trusted the reinforced glass to keep him safe. The meeting had been unexpected, and he wasn’t sure how to react. The discovery of the chemicals responsible for Reya’s pain intrigued him. He was certain they could use it to dampen, if not eliminate, pain entirely. If only they could understand what the chemical did.
The only problem was the ethical issues of testing such a substance on another being. Kaius would have to ensure that no such thing happened. Unfortunately, this would hamper his research’s progress significantly. Pondering what to do, he realized that the first step was to actually gain possession of what the chemicals looked like. The next would be to synthesize it to that they could study it properly.
Muttering about the preparations he was going to have to make, he paced over to his desk and picked up his data slate. Punching in a long code, he started a call. The program forced the recipient to answer. Nadi’s surprised face appeared onscreen. She appeared to be in her room. Good, Kaius thought.
“Elder Kaius,” Nadi said deferentially. “How may I help you?”
“Nadi,” Kaius said warmly, “is now a good time?”
A scowl quickly formed on Nadi’s face before disappearing. “Of course,” she said smoothly. She was usually alone in her room at this time, but Kaius already knew that. He’d taken a chance that Nadi stuck to her usual schedule when forcing the call to go through. Luckily for him, things had worked out.
“I have a new job for you,” he started. “There’s recently been a discovery that I’m worried about. I would like for you to bring me a copy of what was found. Preferably without anybody knowing.”
Nadi’s face soured. “With all due respect, that sounds like a terrible idea. It barely worked the last time, and I almost got caught. I’m not the best with computers and Irric’s data slate is too heavily encrypted for me to breach.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Kaius reassured her. “I’ll have all the equipment you’ll need sent to you soon. Once you have it, look for a good opportunity. Make sure nobody sees you,” Kaius instructed. “I’m not worried about the length of time it might take for you to accomplish this task, so long as it gets done. The sooner the better, obviously.”
“Are you sure about this? What happens if I get caught?”
“Simply ensure that doesn’t happen,” Kaius said with a smile.
“What is it that you’re looking for?”
“I’m afraid I can’t tell you that.”
“You’re going to have to give me something to go on! Otherwise, how am I supposed to know if I’m getting the right information?”
Kaius paused for a moment. Nadi brought up an excellent point. He did not want to risk receiving useless information. “I’m looking for the makeup of several chemical compounds.”
“What do they do that makes them so important?”
“Some things are best kept secret,” Kaius said sharply. Nadi got the hint and stopped asking more questions. Satisfied that his agent would soon be at work, Kaius ended the call and put his data slate on his desk. “Indeed,” he said, stroking his beard. His mind was awhirl with plans and possibilities as he plotted his next move. “Some things are best kept secret,” he repeated quietly to himself.
The beautiful day found Tassie and Rann together on a walk through the forest. Telling the others that they were out patrolling was simply an excuse for the two girls to find some time alone together away from prying eyes. Their time away had the bonus of granting the new couple a little bit of privacy, with only Kell left behind to supervise.
It was difficult to have an honest conversation when the topic of it was standing in the same room as you. They had nothing against Adrian, but sometimes they needed to have the kind of discussion they didn’t want him overhearing.
“How do you feel about Reya dating Adrian?” Tassie probed. She wanted to see where Rann stood on the matter before opining herself.
Rann hummed. “I’m a little torn, if I’m being honest. I’m happy that she’s happy again and that there’s life in her eyes. But then again, the reason is also Adrian. Truthfully speaking, I don’t know all that much about him. He keeps so much hidden from us.”
“I know he has his reasons,” Tassie replied, “but I agree that the mystery surrounding him doesn’t help his cause.”
“It would be nice if he told us why he doesn’t want us knowing his secrets. All I have are guesses. Admittedly, they’re probably very good guesses, but that’s all they are.”
“I know why he doesn’t tell us.”
“How so?”
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“He told me himself, last night.”
“Is this from when you spoke with him after he returned with Reya? I remember not seeing the two of you for quite some time.”
“That’s right. I figured that since he was going to be such a big part of Reya’s life now I should get to know him better. Maybe get a little glimpse at the person our friend fell in love with. After all, there has to be something about him to warrant her attention.”
Rann nodded. “I’ll have to do the same at some point. What did he have to say?”
“His response was about what I expected. He wants us to view him as a person, not as an experiment. He knows that once we know what happened to him we’re going to treat him differently. He’s already in a tough position and doesn’t want to make things worse. Besides, it turns out he doesn’t want to know what was done to him.”
“Really? I would’ve thought that out of everybody he’d be the one that wanted to know the most.”
“He said that he already knows he’s changed immensely. He doesn’t want to know the full extent of it. He was very clear that he wouldn’t be able to handle it if ever he found out. He didn’t explain why though.”
Rann snorted. “Could you imagine, suddenly finding out why every horrible thing that ever happened was done to you? The idea that knowing there was a reason – a goal – behind each experiment must eat him alive. He was tortured for a purpose. He must be terrified at the prospect of one day learning what that purpose was.”
“Fair enough,” Tassie said. “Anyway, I spent most of the night trying to get a feel of him as a person. I can tell that he’s been deeply impacted by what happened to him, but he tries to get through it. All in all, I don’t think he’s a bad person. He certainly seemed nice enough when he answered my incessant questions. Patient, too.”
“That’s good to hear,” Rann said, relieved. “Do you think he’d ever be abusive towards her?”
“I seriously doubt it. The man loves Reya more than he does himself. She’s literally his entire world.”
“That much?” Rann asked. Tassie nodded. “Wow,” Rann whistled. “Imagine having that kind of devotion. Do you know where Reya stands on that matter?”
“She’s exactly the same as him except flipped. Apparently, she can’t imagine life without him anymore.”
“Is that healthy? They both seem too dependent on the other.”
Tassie shrugged. “It’s certainly better than the alternative, where they’re both depressed and despondent while being plagued with nightmares. This is the best I’ve seen Reya look since we found her. They’ve found something in each other that’s helping them come to terms with what happened, and I think we should let it play out naturally without interfering.”
“What do you think would happen if something happened to one of them?”
“The other would be devastated beyond belief most likely.”
“We should probably ask Kell what he thinks about this.” Tassie agreed. They continued their hike through the forest. The tangled undergrowth made straying off the barely visible path a challenge, but the pair persisted, sticking to the trail.
“So do you approve of them?” Rann asked as the ascended the mountainside. “Reya asked me for my blessing when she told me. It seems to be important to her.”
Tassie thought for a moment. “I do,” she said finally. “Until proven otherwise, I think they fit really well together. It’s a bit strange that he’s an alien, but I guess love knows no boundaries.”
“If only Jyn could see it that way.”
“That’s a whole other can of worms,” Tassie grimaced. “He did not take the news well. I haven’t seen much of him today. He’s made himself pretty scarce.”
“His talk with Beor didn’t go so well last night. Again.” Rann sighed. “That’s the second time now that Beor tries to speak with Jyn only for things to go poorly. I’m worried about the strain it’s beginning to put on their friendship.”
“Beor’s not the only one Jyn’s at odds with,” Tassie said flintily. “He still hasn’t apologized for holding me accountable for what happened to Reya. He still blames me!”
“With the way things are going, I’m not sure you’re ever going to get that apology. Until he works through whatever chip he’s got on his shoulder, he’s not going to apologize to anybody. That’s not to mention how he treats Adrian.”
“I still can’t believe he tried to starve him,” Tassie huffed. “Sometimes I wonder if we wouldn’t be better off without Jyn after all the shit he’s pulled.”
“I think that’s a bit much. Sure, he’s going through a bit of a rough patch, but haven’t we all? I think he needs a little time to sort himself out, that’s all.”
“How much longer do you want to give him? How much longer are you willing to put up with his crap before it’s finally enough? All I want is a simple apology and acknowledgement that he’s been treating me unfairly. It won’t make things go back to how they were but at least it’ll be a start. Is that so much to ask for?”
“I don’t think so, but we can’t force him to apologize. That would just antagonize us further in his eyes. I’ll try talking to him at some point and see if I can sort him out. I don’t know how much it will help, but at least it will be better than nothing.”
“I’ll be waiting for the day that happens,” Tassie said with her arms crossed. “Anyways, back to Adrian,” she said with a sigh. “I really hope things turn out alright, for both of them. They deserve a little happiness after what they went through.”
Rann agreed with the sentiment. “The only thing we can do is keep an eye on them and interfere if we see things go wrong. Hopefully that doesn’t come to pass, but you never know. I’ll ask Beor to keep an eye out as well.”
“Look at us, getting ready to do some reconnaissance,” Tassie smirked.
“I don’t think this what the military had in mind when they trained us,” Rann chuckled.
“Speaking of training, Adrian did well last night when finding Reya and using our equipment. I’m surprised things worked out so well. What should we do if ever something like that happens again, where he needs to use our equipment in an emergency?”
Rann looked thoughtful. “I suppose we can extend a bit more trust. He didn’t misuse what we lent him and returned it in working order. He followed our instructions for contacting us when he found Reya, which he could have ignored, and we’d have been none the wiser. I’d say he’s earned a bit of leniency after all this time.”
“True,” Tassie agreed. “I don’t think we should make it a habit of lending him our equipment, but I agree that perhaps he can be trusted a bit more around the house.”
Having reached the halfway point in their walk, the girls decided to turn around and head back home. Their conversation about Adrian continued as Rann probed Tassie about what she’d learned about him the night before. By the time they’d returned, Rann felt like she had a better understanding of who Adrian was. While second hand information was no substitute to actually speaking with Adrian herself, Rann would have to settle for it until she could find the time to pull Adrian aside alone.
