Adrian paced anxiously in the living room while Reya watched him with concern. “Adrian, sit down already,” she said from where she was seated in the corner of the couch. “You’re going to wear the floor out at this rate.” She patted the cushion next to her, beckoning Adrian to come over. He sat down with a heavy sigh and curled up against her.

  The house was quiet. Empty. Most of the team had gone on a supply run and were due to return soon. Only Beor and Eimir were left on guard duty, and they’d made themselves obsolete, granting the couple some precious time alone together in the house. Time they were making good use of.

  It had been four months since Ava’s appearance in their lives. Reya and Adrian had continued to grow closer and were now almost inseparable. They spent an exorbitant amount of time together and almost any activity that included one now included the other. Adrian could tell that it was beginning to grow on Rann’s nerves and was making an active effort not to join in when he wasn’t wanted.

  The pair needed to change sleeping medication again. Kell was growing seriously concerned about their reliance on the medication and ever-increasing need for stronger doses. He’d gone personally on the supply run to ensure that he would be able to properly treat them.

  Sleeping medication wasn’t what was on Adrian’s mind, however. “It’s hard to sit still when I know they’re almost here. I finally get to see if your military was able to recreate my world’s instruments. I could play music again, after so long. It would be like having a part of my old world back, if only for a moment.”

  Reya grabbed Adrian’s hand and gave it a squeeze. Ever since he’d heard that the replicas had been built, he’d latched on to the feeling of having something familiar again and had been a bundle of nervous energy. She could tell how much having those instruments meant for him and hoped dearly that whatever Rann and the others delivered were close enough to the originals to make Adrian happy.

  The pair remained curled together, Reya’s presence having a soothing effect on Adrian while they waited. After some time, a ring came from the data slate on the coffee table. Adrian reached over and grabbed it before Reya could even blink and handed it to her so that she could answer. He knew that Jyn didn’t like it when he used their technology and didn’t want to do anything that might jeopardize his chances at being able to play music again.

  Bemused, Reya answered the call. It was Rann, who was asking for them to help carry the stuff inside. Adrian stood up immediately and made his way out the house. Reya set the data slate back down and followed.

  He found Tassie descending the ramp of the ship with two guitar cases. She spotted him as she set them on the ground. “I hope these are what you’re looking for, because there’s a whole lot of them. Two of each to be exact,” she said.

  Kell came out carrying a long case and a stand. “I think we could leave some of the larger ones on the ship. I’m certain we don’t need two sets of drums in the house.”

  “That sounds fine,” Tassie replied. “Adrian, what do you think?” Adrian’s eyes snapped from the guitar cases towards her, and he blinked.

  “I think that would be fine. Besides, I’m the only one who can play them. There’s no need for extras.” Adrian eyed the two guitars on the ground. “Except for those ones, since you already brought them out.”

  “Less it is then,” Tassie said gleefully. “I’ll help bring the stuff out here while you two put it away in the house.” She turned around without further thought and climbed the ramp back into the ship. Adrian grabbed the two guitars while Reya collected the long black case and stand from Kell.

  Adrian opened the door after setting one of the guitars down and brought them over to the kitchen table. Gingerly, he placed one atop the table. Reya set down her load against the wall and walked next to Adrian.

  “What are you waiting for?” she asked, giving him a playful nudge. “Go ahead and take a look.”

  Slowly, carefully, Adrian undid the clasps. He shared one last encouraging glance with Reya before lifting open the lid of the case. Before him stood a near perfect replica of something he could expect to find back on Earth. Tears stung his eyes as his hopes soared.

  He lifted the rich, dark brown guitar out of its case with great care. He took its strap and slung it around his shoulder and looked down at the instrument in his hands. “Well?” Reya asked eagerly. “Is it what you were hoping for?”

  “So far, yes,” Adrian said softly. He placed his fingers upon its frets and gently strummed a chord. A dissonant, displeasing sound filled the room, making both him and Reya grimace.

  Reya had an unsure look. “It sounds,” she trailed off, looking for something polite to say, “unique, that’s for sure.”

  “You mean horrible,” Adrian chuckled. “It’s completely out of tune. Give me a minute to see if I can tune it properly.”

  “How do you plan on doing that without a tuner?” Reya asked, genuinely curious.

  Adrian shrugged. “I’ll go by memory and by ear. That should be good enough.”

  Reya balked. “How is that reliable?” she couldn’t help but ask.

  “It isn’t,” Adrian admitted. “But I’ve done it so many times that I have a good idea of what to look for.” He got to work, testing each string and turning the knobs on the guitar’s head. It took him a while, but eventually he was satisfied. “This is what that should have sounded like,” he said before strumming the chord anew.” Reya’s eyes widened as she beheld the difference.

  He set his fingers to a different chord and played that one, followed by a third. He hardly noticed the strings biting into his fingers as began strumming a simple tune with those three chords. The lyrics that accompanied the song left Adrian’s lips as he sang along softly.

  He didn’t play for very long until he stopped. Reya stared at him. “That was amazing,” she praised.

  Adrian blushed at her words. “That was really only something simple. My fingers were kind of stiff while playing. It’s going to take some practice to go back to how I was before I got abducted.”

  “I can’t wait to see,” Reya said excitedly. The sound of boots walking on the porch outside caught her attention. Tassie entered the house holding a smaller black case and a strange looking device. It was made out of a silvery metal and resembled a large ball with a handle.

  “There you are!” Tassie huffed. “You’re supposed to help bring stuff inside.” She glanced at the instrument attached to Adrian. “Is that what they look like? Strange. Anyways, put the stuff in Reya’s old room. We can use it to store all the instruments since it’s not being used right now.”

  Adrian unslung the guitar and placed it back in its case. After clasping it, he picked up the other case and brought them to the room in a hurry. He wanted to see what the rest of the instruments looked like. He almost crashed into Reya on his way out of the room. Reya expertly dodged out of the way, smiling at his enthusiasm.

  It took quite a few more trips, but in what felt like no time at all, everything had been deposited in the music room. The military had even thought to include stands for the instruments, meaning Adrian could take them out of their cases.

  The others left him and Reya to organize the equipment. Reya mostly watched, not wanting to accidentally damage anything. Slowly, the bedroom turned itself into a veritable music room. Adrian spent time tuning each instrument. Afterwards, he tested them out briefly with part of a song.

  Soon, everything was in place.

  Tassie came in with one last piece of equipment and set it down on the floor. It had quite a few pedals on it. “Adrian, why did you get a machine that loops music?” she asked.

  “I don’t really have a band here to play with, so I figured this way I could do it myself,” Adrian replied offhandedly.

  Tassie paused. “How would that work, exactly?”

  Adrian turned his gaze towards her. “I can show you if you’d like. Nothing too crazy though, since it’s been so long since I’ve last played.”

  “You mean you’d be willing to show us?”

  “Of course. What’s wrong with sharing music with you?”

  “I’m just surprised, that’s all. Normally you don’t talk about yourself. That night at the campfire was the first time any of us really learned anything about you.”

  Adrian shrugged. “I love music. I went to school for it, even. I could talk about music all day.”

  “Then why don’t you?”

  Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

  “Why bother? I was scoffed at when I told your Tribunal I was a musician. I figured you had no interest in my knowledge since it’s not something you can weaponize. And until now, I had no instruments to play. It would be hard for me to teach without them. Well, now I have the instruments.”

  “You’re going to play music for us?” Reya asked, full of anticipation.

  Adrian nodded. “I can finally show you,” he said softly. “A small piece of my old home.”

  Reya grabbed Tassie and brought her to the bed. They waited patiently for Adrian to set up, Tassie asking questions as Adrian moved the instruments into position. Adrian replied, his answers remarkably detailed. They gave her pause. She wondered what else he knew about the topic.

  Adrian took his time, still unused to the equipment, requiring help connecting everything properly. Once he had everything he needed in place, he closed the door to the room. “The best I’m going to be able to play are relatively simple songs. I’m simply too rusty to play anything else. Forgive me if I make a mistake.”

  “I don’t think we’d be able to notice,” Reya said. She sat on the edge of the bed, ready to hear more of Adrian’s language, even though she knew she wouldn’t understand. One day she would, she told herself.

  Adrian took position in front of the microphone. He grabbed the acoustic guitar and shot a glance at Reya.

  And then he began.

  It was simple, at first. Adrian strummed a few chords, the sound of the guitar surprising Reya and Tassie. Then he added a simple melody and looped it. The loop ran on while Adrian set his guitar down and picked up the bass. He added in yet another simple tune.

  In no rush, Adrian played with the pedals on his machine and made his way through each instrument. The drums were next. Adrian made use of a smaller, second looping machine to add in a beat. When he grabbed the electric guitar, he approached the mic and started for real.

  The result blew the girls away.

  “That was amazing,” Reya said when he was done. She hadn’t been sure what to expect, but Adrian had delivered. He’d spoken to her about his music on occasion and she could tell how much it meant to him. To actually hear it was another thing entirely.

  “What part of that was simple?” Tassie asked. “I can’t get over the fact that you can really play all of those instruments.”

  “Everything I did on each instrument was rather simple,” Adrian pointed out.

  “And you turned it into that.”

  Reya stared at Adrian, her eyes shining. “Can you play another one?” she asked eagerly. She desperately wanted to hear what else he could do.

  He looked at her warmly and said “Of course.” Adrian played a few more songs for them before finally stopping. Neither member of his captive audience understood a word he said, but they enjoyed the show all the same. Tassie eventually excused herself, not having noticed the time pass. Irric was waiting for her so they could get some work done.

  Alone in the room once more, Reya and Adrian continued to discuss the instruments. He took the time to properly show her how each instrument was played, much to her delight. When Reya asked if she could try holding the guitar, a large smile broke out on Adrian’s face.

  The next hour was spent teaching Reya how to properly hold the instrument and play a few basic chords. “This is harder than I thought it would be,” Reya said as she inspected her hand, noting the impressions on her fingertips left by the strings. “You made it look so easy.”

  “Everybody has to start somewhere,” Adrian replied. “It took me years of constant practice to get to the point I’m at now. Even then, my hands feel stiff from not having played for so long.” The mention of time spent unable to practice brought a dark cloud over his good mood as memories of what had happened resurfaced. Even in death, the gru’ul found ways to haunt him.

  Reya sensed that Adrian’s thoughts had turned less than pleasant by the expression on his face. When they were together, he didn’t keep his emotions off of his face like he did when the others were around. She carefully set her guitar back on its stand and gave Adrian a hug from the side, minding the instrument he was holding.

  “It certainly shows,” Reya said, keeping the topic of conversation light. Adrian leaned into the hug, thanking whatever gods Reya prayed to for having brought such a wonderful person into existence. “So it was your love of music that brought you study it in a university?” she asked, hoping to learn more about him.

  “Pretty much,” Adrian replied. He broke down his country’s educational system and explained that he was working on a doctorate in music theory. Reya was suitably impressed that Adrian had learned so much about the subject.

  As she listened, Reya glanced at the desk and spotted a stack of papers, not recalling when they got there. Curious, she walked over and took a look. She couldn’t make sense of the scored paper. “What’s this for?” she turned and asked Adrian, brandishing one of the papers.

  Adrian blinked. “That’s for scoring music,” he said. “I’m not sure how you do it here, but that’s what we use back on Earth.”

  “I’m afraid I don’t understand,” Reya said, her brows furrowed.

  “It’s so that I can write music,” Adrian explained patiently once more.

  “What do you mean, write music down?” Reya gaped. “How could you do that?”

  Adrian stared at her blankly. Tentatively, he asked, “You mean you don’t?” He’d known that their cultures were different, but to think they didn’t write their music down was absurd to him. He wondered how such a technologically advanced society hadn’t thought of the idea.

  “Of course not,” Reya replied, confirming Adrian’s suspicions.

  Adrian balked at the idea. He’d expected that they simply had their own way of writing music, not that they had none at all. “You’re kidding me, right?” Adrian stammered. “That’s what those sheets are for.” He pointed towards the pile of blank sheet music that Reya was asking about.

  Reya stared at him, agape. “You can write music?” she said in disbelief. “No way, I don’t believe you.”

  Adrian put his guitar back on the stand and made his way over the desk. Opening the top drawer, he searched for a pen. “It’s amazing how some things are so similar here at times, yet so different in others,” he said as he eyed the pens. “I never thought you’d have pens and paper here,” he commented. Sitting down in the chair at the desk, he grabbed the top page off of the stack and set it down in front of him.

  Reya moved to stand in beside him and watched as Adrian began drawing some symbols on it. He then explained to her what they meant and gave her a basic lesson on how to write music. By the end of it, Adrian had filled in half the sheet.

  “And you’re telling me you can read that and play a song?” Reya asked, stunned at the revelation. “What would that sound like?” she asked with great interest. Adrian brought the sheet over to the keyboard and sat down at the small bench in front of it. He placed the paper on the small stand atop the instrument and synced the piano with the amp.

  “This isn’t going to sound the best since it was used for demonstrations, but I can show you all the things we just talked about again.” Adrian took position and began playing, explaining as he went along. Reya’s eyes were wide by the time he was finished.

  “Adrian, this is incredible!” she gushed. “Is this common where you’re from?”

  “The ability to recognize it as sheet music is something pretty much everyone can do, I think. The ability to read it, less so. Just about anybody who plays an instrument knows how to read sheet music, however. Whether or not they can play what’s written is another,” Adrian chuckled.

  “This is revolutionary! Somebody else needs to know about this! Can we show Tassie?”

  Reya’s request took him by surprise. He hadn’t thought such a mundane piece of information would garner so much interest. When he’d first requested the special paper be made, he’d simply asked Tassie if it was possible to create the kind of sheets he needed but hadn’t gone into detail on why he needed them. He’d thought it obvious at the time since Tassie hadn’t probed too deeply on the matter, but now he learned that was because written music simply didn’t exist on Verilia. “I guess,” Adrian said, hoping he wouldn’t regret his decision. Yet he couldn’t find it in himself to deny others something he considered so basic.

  “Can you show her now?” Reya asked excitedly.

  She constantly asked about his civilization and was the only one with any interest in the more mundane topics. They normally discussed what topics they wanted to keep between themselves. Adrian was more surprised than anything that Reya was pushing for this so badly. “Is this truly so amazing that she needs to drop what she’s doing to come and see?”

  “Adrian, you don’t get it. We’ve had attempts to properly record our music. The thought of writing music down was deemed to be impossible. The best we ever got was to record a song and try printing it out as a mathematical function. You can’t do anything with that. This,” she pointed towards the sheet music on the stand, “is the first time a system for writing music that works has ever been created here on Verilia. This is history in the making, I’m sure of it.”

  Adrian stared at her mutely. “Holy shit,” he said in disbelief when he found his voice. Then he started to laugh. “To think that music, of all things, is the revolutionary idea from my society. I was scoffed at for my knowledge on the subject. Your Tribunal is going to look like they bit into a lemon,” Adrian said gleefully. “This is going to be great.”

  “What was that word?” Reya asked. Adrian would occasionally use words from his native language to substitute for things her language didn’t have. It fascinated her to no end and whenever Adrian said a new word, she took the opportunity to ask what it was. She hoped to one day be able to converse with him in his language.

  Adrian paused. “It’s a fruit from my home world,” he said, trying to figure out how best to describe something Reya would never see. “It has a very sour citrus taste that kind of turns sweet towards the end.” He talked about a small yellow fruit that would fit in her palm, telling her everything he knew about lemons. Reya was engrossed, trying to picture the image Adrian was describing.

  “That still doesn’t explain why you used it. Why would the Tribunal look like they’re going to bite into one?”

  “It’s an idiom in my language. I had no substitute fruit I could use in place of lemon,” Adrian said, “so I used that word instead.” He then went on to explain the rest of the idiom to her. Reya caught on quickly and smirked at the mental image.

  “I’m all for the Tribunal biting into a lemon,” Reya tried pronouncing, “but aren’t you worried about your knowledge being spread out around? What if someone traces it back to you?” Brought out of her earlier rush, she reflected on whether or not Adrian’s knowledge spreading was a good thing.

  Adrian turned pensive before finally answering “I am worried, but I can’t find it in myself not to teach you. I’m sure your Tribunal will keep a lid on this until the time is right anyways. Maybe I can try to bargain something from them in exchange for it.”

  “Careful not to push too hard,” Reya warned. “They weren’t happy with you the last time.”

  Adrian grinned. “I’m going to teach you regardless. Might as well see if I can get something out of it. A small piece of something is better than a large piece of nothing. I’ll dial it down real fast if it looks like they’re getting upset,” he said seriously.

  “Have you thought about what you want?”

  “Absolutely. I want ownership of these instruments and permission to play music and record it. It would be nice to have some familiar songs playing around the house.”

  “That doesn’t seem too bad,” Reya hummed. “I don’t think they’ll have any issues with that, provided that you give them a copy of whatever you make so they can see what you’re up to.”

  “I can live with that,” he said. Adrian had not had any privacy for a long time. He’d come to value it greatly since his time in captivity but knew that everything he did was being monitored and reported back to the Tribunal. He’d accepted the fact long ago. It was why he loved his escapades with Reya to their secret spot. It was one of the few times they could truly get away from everyone for a moment and be together. “Let’s give Tassie that call and see if this is as big as you think it is.”

  “It’s time for you to get a reality check,” Reya said, amused. “Because you’re still underestimating how important this actually is.”

  Reya reached for the data slate.