Tassie sat at her station on the bridge. Hovering around her were various screens, one of which was displaying Irric as he talked to her. The pair had been working together for over an hour and had made absolutely no progress, as per usual. “This is going nowhere, Irric,” Tassie sighed in frustration. “We’ve spent months working on this and we still aren’t any closer to figuring out how to crack the encryption on the Highest’s terminal. We need more time. It’s a shame I can’t work on it longer while you’re off doing gods knows what.”

  Irric seized the opportunity to broach a delicate subject. It had long since been decided to unfreeze the man he’d found trapped in a pod, but Irric hadn’t been allowed to talk about it with Tassie. Until now. It had taken some time, but Ava had cracked the encryption on the terminal believed to control the pods. He knew the Tribunal, the General and the Commander were all cooperating fully together on this. He’d been contacted earlier by Cyrix explaining to him what was about to happen.

  It was vital that everyone at the safe house be warned of the newcomer. That meant bringing Tassie up to speed on the current situation so she could inform the others. He honestly wondered why the Tribunal hadn’t let him tell her sooner. “About that,” Irric started, catching her attention. “There’s something you need to know.”

  Tassie narrowed her eyes. Irric’s tone screamed bad news. “I’m not going to like this, am I?” She knew by now that Irric couldn’t speak about everything he learned at the facility and that when he did it was usually pretty important. She wasn’t pleased at being kept out of the loop but had gotten over it and continued her work anyway.

  Irric made a sour face. “Probably not. It’s about what we discovered in one of the other rooms only the Highest had access to.” Tassie raised a brow. She knew there were other rooms, but not what had been found in them. He launched into an explanation about the discovery of the frozen bodies and finding one intact. After a bit of hesitation, he talked about how Ava recognized the man in the pod that was Adrian’s fellow test subject.

  Tassie stared at him, stunned, while trying to figure out the odds of such an occurrence. “Just what happened to Adrian? There are way too many coincidences here.” Suspicion laced her voice as she dwelled upon the matter further. “Adrian’s clearly more important than we first realized if everything we discover points back to him.”

  “I know,” Irric intoned seriously. “It’s vital now more than ever that we learn what really happened at the facility. What’s so interesting about him? Since he’s refusing to tell us anything about his time as a test subject, the Tribunal is hoping that the new person will talk about what happened to them. It would shed some light on the mysteries surrounding Adrian. With Ava refusing to elaborate on what happened, this is our only real chance to learn anything.”

  “That still won’t tell us what the gru’ul did to him,” Tassie pointed out.

  “No, but it might tell us why they wanted him. Whatever was done to Adrian before being given to the gru’ul must have been interesting enough to warrant their attention. We have the chance to learn what that might be.”

  “I thought Adrian’s claims hadn’t been accepted yet by the Tribunal. Why do they care so much about what happened before the gru’ul got their hands on him?”

  “I don’t know anything about that.” Irric shook his head. “If they did come to a decision, I’m not the person they would tell it to. I’m not so important that I get to know what the Tribunal is discussing behind closed doors. That said, I’m ordering you to tell the others about the new arrival. You’re allowed to tell them everything I’ve told you.”

  Tassie’s eyes went wide. “You’re giving me an order?” That was the first time Irric had ever exercised his authority over her.

  “Yes,” Irric said solemnly. “I’m not doing it out of pleasure. There’s more. The house has to be properly prepared to receive this man. The Tribunal is hoping he’ll be more cooperative than Adrian when it comes to spilling details on what happened to him. No threats of any kind. Just look where that got us with Adrian. Play nice. Get this man to talk, however you can. Make sure Jyn cooperates and doesn’t cross any lines. The Tribunal leaves the specifics up to you.”

  Tassie gulped. “I see. Do we have a time frame to make him talk?”

  “Ideally within two months,” Irric replied. “They want him to talk before their contract with Ava comes due.”

  “I didn’t realize there was even a contract in place with Ava to begin with. Wouldn’t it be relevant for me to know these things?”

  “No. That information is classified, even for you.”

  “But you know,” Tassie accused with narrowed eyes.

  “Yes,” Irric said, not bothering to hide the fact. “Part of the agreement concerned me and so I was told of its contents. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have known either.”

  “Is there anything else I need to know that you haven’t told me yet?”

  “According to Ava, the man and Adrian are most probably not going to be on very good terms when they meet. She refused to explain why.”

  Tassie flashed a worried expression. “Things probably aren’t going to end well. I don’t know how Adrian will react to this without knowing their history. I’m worried about him and Reya. I don’t think they’re doing too well these days and I’m not sure how they’re going to be affected by this. It could lead to downward spiral for both of them when they’re finally starting to get a bit better. They’ve been looking more tired as of late and I don’t know why. They haven’t shared what’s bothering them.”

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  “Do you think Adrian will react violently?” Irric asked with a level stare. How the Tribunal would react to Adrian harming their newest person of interest was unclear to Irric. He had a strong suspicion it would end with Adrian back in a cell, something he knew Adrian won’t stand for. Not after the last time.

  “I don’t think so,” Tassie said after a moment’s thought. “He might be angry if his past reaction is anything to go by, but so far he’s been entirely pacifistic. Even with Jyn acting the way he’s been. I’m surprised he hasn’t snapped yet, if I’m being honest. I don’t think Adrian’s going to stand for anymore threats towards him, though. We’ve – well, mostly Jyn– pushed him too far too many times.”

  Irric nodded in understanding. “It is rather incredible that he hasn’t lashed out even once so far, given the situation.”

  “Reya’s the only thing keeping him sane, I think. Without her, things would have played out much differently. She literally means the world to him. If anything were to ever happen to her, Adrian would fight tooth and nail to see her safe.”

  Irric’s brows raised. “She means that much to him?”

  Tassie nodded solemnly. “Yes, which is why I’m not too worried about him reacting violently. He wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize his relationship with her.” A ring from her data slate cut off her next train of thought. Glancing at the screen, she frowned when she saw Reya listed as the caller. Deeming her current conversation with Irric more important, Tassie declined the call. “I can call her back later,” she said after Irric asked if everything was alright.

  When the data slate rang a second time, Tassie frowned. “I think you should pick up the call,” Irric said, bemused. “It’s clearly important if she can’t wait when she knows we’re working.”

  “Fine,” Tassie sighed.

  “Remember to tell the others about the new situation,” Irric said. “Hopefully it’ll go over well when you do. Make sure to gauge Adrian’s reaction to the news and tell me about it.” Tassie nodded in confirmation and ended the call with Irric.

  She turned to the still ringing data slate and answered. Reya’s face appeared onscreen. Adrian was standing beside her. “Is there a problem?” she inquired.

  “No, but there’s something you need to see,” Reya replied hurriedly. “Could you come to the music room?”

  Tassie frowned. “Can it wait? I was on an important call.”

  Reya shook her head. “It really can’t. Trust me when I say that you’re going to want to know about this as soon as possible. You’d never forgive yourself if you missed this.”

  Tassie relented and agreed to go see what they wanted. Putting the data slate down, she locked her station and ensured that the others wouldn’t accidentally see her work. She walked off the ship’s ramp and onto the soft grass in a hurry, wanting to return to her work as soon as possible.

  She found Reya and Adrian where she’d left them. Adrian was seated at the desk with the oddly lined paper he’d requested. Tassie closed the door behind her. “What’s the big deal that it couldn’t wait a couple more hours for me to be finished working?”

  Adrian turned to face Tassie. “It’s concerning knowledge from my home world. Reya and I made a discovery about something my society has that yours doesn’t.”

  Tassie instantly became more alert. She’d been ordered by the General to report any important information Adrian divulged. They all had. The only person free from that order was Reya as she was no longer beholden to the military. And Reya was a locked vault when it came to anything she learned from Adrian. Except for now. “What is it?” she asked in an excited rush.

  Reya and Adrian shared a glance. “There’s one condition before I tell you,” Adrian said seriously. Tassie’s mood dampened as she turned wary. Adrian’s words sent alarm bells ringing in her head.

  “What is it?” Tassie asked cautiously.

  “I want you to keep the details of what I’m going to tell you a secret. I’d like the opportunity to speak to your Tribunal directly when they learn about it. You can tell Irric what was discovered, so that he can inform the Tribunal. But no specifics,” Adrian warned.

  “Is this really necessary? What difference does it make who teaches the Tribunal? Unless you want to exchange the information for something,” Tassie trailed off. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Which of course you do,” she realized. “You know I could get in big trouble for keeping this a secret right?”

  “I’m planning on telling your Tribunal literally everything I know on the topic. What does it matter if you keep it secret for a little while?”

  “I already got in trouble once for forgetting to tell them something. I can’t afford to do so again. How about you show me, and I’ll tell Irric that you’d like to explain this personally to them?”

  Adrian thought for a moment, mulling over her offer. “That works,” he said finally. “Might get me some goodwill. I don’t expect you to remember all of the specifics anyway, so I’ll have to be the one to explain this to the Tribunal if they want to learn the rest.”

  “Is what you have share really that important?”

  “It is,” Reya said firmly with conviction.

  “Why didn’t you make mention of this sooner?”

  “I didn’t realize that this wasn’t a concept here,” Adrian said apologetically. “It’s something pretty common where I’m from and with everything happening, it slipped my mind completely.” Tassie looked at him expectantly and signaled for him to continue. “Where I’m from,” Adrian said, jumping to the point, “we have a way to write music down. Anybody with enough skill can then read that and recreate the original song.”

  Tassie’s eyes widened at the revelation. “No way,” Tassie said. “It’s been tried before, and nobody’s ever succeeded. How could such a thing be common from where you’re from? Your society is less technologically advanced than ours! How were you able to figure this out?”

  Adrian scratched his head. He gave a brief history lesson, stunning both Reya and Tassie. “Why didn’t you tell me that earlier?” Reya asked.

  “It’s not like you gave me much time after you found out,” Adrian chuckled. “If you’re interested in learning, I can show you how it works,” he said to Tassie. “Reya already knows.”

  “I’m interested,” Tassie said, tripping over her words in her rush to get them out. She moved closer to Adrian to get a better view and listened with rapt attention as he gave his lesson. He patiently answered any questions she had. “It makes so much sense,” Tassie muttered to herself when he finished. “How come nobody saw something like this earlier? Can you show me what that song would sound like?” she asked, pointing at the sheet music Adrian used for the lesson.”

  Reya grinned from where she stood. She’d listened to the lesson again alongside Tassie, glad for the refresher. “That’s exactly what I asked when he showed me,” she said with amusement in her voice. “Was this important enough for the interruption?”

  “Absolutely,” Tassie said fervently. “I need to tell Irric about this. I can’t believe I was one of the first people to learn how to write music here on Verilia!” she gushed. In the meantime, Adrian had moved to the keyboard. Once everything was set up, he called out to Tassie and showed her the song, as he’d done for Reya not long before. He went back over the lesson again by following what was written. When he was done, he had mercy on her and let her go tell Irric.

  Tassie raced to the back ship without a moment to spare.