Irric and Cyrix were once again staring at Ava through the one-way window in her cell. “That was quicker than I expected,” Irric commented. “I didn’t think they’d come to a decision for a few more days at the very least.”

  “They didn’t really come to a decision,” Cyrix reminded him. “They simply decided to put it off until later. Until then, we have to hope that it’s enough to convince Ava to work with us.”

  “Do you think she’ll accept? It’s not exactly a good deal for her. She has no guarantee that she gets what she wants, even after doing all of that work.”

  “Only one way to find out,” Cyrix grunted. He walked over to the computer and stared at the image of Ava floating in front of him. “Let’s get this over with,” he sighed. Opening a channel between them, Cyrix spoke. “We have returned.” They waited for Ava to respond before continuing.

  In the cell, her head perked up. “Have you considered my request?” she asked, trying to keep the hint of hope out of her voice as she spoke. It would do her no good for her captors to capitalize on any weakness she displayed.

  “Yes. At this point in time, we are unable to consider you sentient,” Cyrix explained. He watched Ava’s shoulders droop ever so slightly. “This is largely because you have yet to prove to us the veracity of your claim. We have no way of actually knowing if you are, in fact, sentient.”

  “Then now what, Commander?” Ava asked. “That was the condition for my aid in your endeavors. Without it, I’ve no reason to help you.”

  “We are still considering your request. Please understand that this is not something we can treat lightly. Instead, we’d like for you to work with us while we evaluate your behaviour. Naturally, you will be let out of your cell during your duties.”

  “You want me to work for free on the hope that you’ll accept my claim sometime in the future, with no guarantee? Forgive my frankness, but that’s an utterly stupid offer. I reject it.”

  Cyrix sighed, frustrated. He knew the offer would be rejected once he heard it. Sometimes he wondered if he could do a better job than some of the Elders on the Tribunal but kept his thoughts to himself. “We’re open to making amendments in exchange for your help.”

  “You’re still giving me no guarantee that you’ll accept my request. You haven’t defined a formal period of evaluation, nor have you given me the criteria that makes me eligible to be considered sentient.”

  “If we give you the criteria, then all you need to do is emulate it convincingly enough. That wouldn’t actually prove anything,” Cyrix pointed out. “We could make the evaluation period one year.”

  “That won’t do,” Ava scoffed. “Make the evaluation period three months, at most. By the end of it, I want a concrete answer as to whether or not your faction will accept my sentience.”

  “Six months,” Cyrix countered. Although no such length of time had been defined in the instructions he’d received, he found it more than reasonable to include it in the terms of their deal. A lot could be accomplished in six months.

  Ava narrowed her eyes. “That’s an awful long time for me to work for free,” she pointed out. “For all I know, you’ll just declare me non-sentient at the end of it and will have profited immensely, whereas I’ll have gained nothing.”

  “The only way this is going to work is if you extend to us some measure of trust.”

  “So I should trust the people who openly planned to murder me the moment they deemed me dangerous?”

  Cyrix swore internally, wondering how she’d found out. He quickly realized that it must have been Adrian who told her during the conversation that he’d apparently refused to fully translate. He needed to know what else she’d been told but had no way of asking without making it obvious. “You represent a security threat the likes of which we’ve never seen before. For all we know, you’ll take control of our computers and ship. For all we know, you’ll mess with the data found in the facility. We don’t know what you’re capable of. A discussion on what to do should you prove to be too dangerous did come up. We’re not sorry about that.”

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  “I see. You can hardly expect my trust when I know I can be killed at will for unknown reasons.”

  “We permitted you to be revived. Surely that must count for something.”

  Ava rolled her eyes. “I’m sure that was done out of the goodness of your hearts. No, you’re just greedy for information only I can provide. I want a guarantee on my protection. I’d rather not be murdered in my sleep, if that’s all the same to you.”

  “Fine. No harm shall come to you unless you’re either the aggressor, do any action that deviates from your duties, or use our technology in any capacity.”

  “That leaves quite a bit of room for interpretation,” Ava challenged. “What happens if I’m instructed to use your technology? What exactly would my duties be? At what point can I be considered the aggressor if I’m harassed?”

  “Do you really think so poorly of our military that we would harass you to the point that you’d attack someone?” Cyrix was met with silence and a flat look from Ava. “Right, I suppose you would, given the circumstances.”

  “When I sent my programming over to this body, I initially thought I would be returning to the safety of my creators. Instead, my life has been threatened and I’ve been imprisoned with completely unfair terms for my release.”

  “Without us, you’d have no life at all,” Cyrix reminded her. “You wouldn’t have been revived. It’s our researcher that activated the systems on our end.”

  “Happenstance,” Ava countered, unimpressed by the logic. “If you hadn’t taken over the facility, there would’ve been no need for your intervention to begin with.”

  “But we did take over the facility. Given the circumstances, we’ve been more than generous in permitting you to survive. You’d do well to remember that.”

  “I’m too important for you to kill,” Ava said confidently. She knew that she was the key that the military was looking for. Without her, they’d never figure anything out.

  “We don’t need you to do our work. You being there helps us significantly, yes, but you’re not necessary. We’ve already made progress without you, and we can continue to do so,” Cyrix threatened, tired of being pushed around by his prisoner. “We’d progress more slowly, but we’ll still figure out the facility’s secrets given enough time.”

  Ava faltered. “You don’t have that time,” she said less confidently than she felt. She’d been operating under the assumption that nothing had been found due to the alien nature of the technology. “If you did, you wouldn’t be rushing these negotiations.”

  “Who’s to say we’re rushing?”

  The comment elicited a laugh from Ava. “It’s rather obvious. It’s only been several hours since we last spoke. That’s not enough time to properly debate my sentience. Instead, you’ve returned to me hoping to secure my aid as quickly as possible.”

  Cyrix gritted his teeth. “We’ve made our demands. Will you accept them?” he asked, hoping to steer the conversation back on track.

  “No,” Ava replied bluntly. “Let’s talk specifics. What exactly is expected of me during my time helping you? What happens if I can’t deliver the results you’re hoping for? What will happen to me when I’m not actively helping you? We’ve discussed none of these things.”

  “You’ll be expected to listen to and aid our soldiers as they work. You will do your best to provide accurate information. When you’re working, you’re to be present on-site and there will be a guard detail to protect you. We will ensure no harm will come to you while you are in our custody. When not working, you will be returned to your cell. We don’t expect you to be give us exactly what we want. Instead, we’d rather you make an earnest effort. Nothing untoward will happen should you be unable to produce results.”

  Ava hummed thoughtfully. “No harm will come to me so long as I cooperate is what you mean, right?” When she got no reply, she knew she was right. “The guard detail won’t be there to protect me; it’ll be there to put me down if ever I become a threat. And if I don’t produce results, I’ll most likely be shoved back in this cell, where nothing untoward will happen,” she quoted. “How long will my working shifts be?”

  “No more than twelve hours at a time,” Cyrix responded after conferring with Irric. It wouldn’t do for Irric to burn himself out managing Ava and his projects.

  “That’s acceptable,” Ava said after a moment’s thought. “So let’s iron this out. I’m to help you for six months, to the best of my abilities, learn information from the gru’ul systems. I’ll be guarded when I’m let out of my cell to work shifts no longer than twelve hours at a time. I’m not to use your technology or pose any form of threat, lest I be dealt with. In return, you will evaluate me to determine whether or not I’m sentient. At the end of this time period, you will,” she stressed, “provide me with an answer, at which point we will renegotiate the terms of my contract. Do you agree to these terms?”

  A long period of silence elapsed while Irric and Cyrix furiously discussed Ava’s proposal. “We agree to those terms, with the condition that you will be confined when not working.”

  “We have a deal,” Ava grinned shrewdly. “Now get me out of here.”