Cyrix sat at his desk, contemplating the fiasco that had been their most recent interaction with Ava. Now that she was boycotting their deal, their progress would slow considerably. Yet he couldn’t bring himself to blame the Tribunal for needing more time to deliberate the matter. He’d been paying close attention to Ava during the interaction. Irric had been able to grant them a visual as well.

  He thanked his lucky stars that he wasn’t the one tasked with determining whether she qualified as a sentient being or not. The magnitude of such a decision wasn’t something he thought he could handle. Reaching over towards his desk, he grabbed the black mug filled with tea and took a sip. The herb infused was one known to have a calming effect and by the gods how he needed it.

  The Mandate.

  Irric’s conversation with the gru’ul prisoner weighed heavily on his mind. He’d waited to see if his soldier would come forward and divulge the information he’d learned, but thus far Irric had remained silent on the matter. Not that Cyrix could blame him. After all, he was also keeping the revelation from the rest of High Command. He sighed.

  He was getting nowhere.

  He was still missing part of the puzzle. The conversation Irric had with Ava eluded him. If only he knew what they’d spoken about that had led Irric to that line of questioning. Just how much did Ava know? Irric hadn’t had another conversation about the topic since, he’d been paying close attention.

  He drummed his fingers against his mug and then put it back down on the desk. What he needed was his own conversation with Ava. Decision made, he left his office and tea behind and went to visit Ava in her cell. She was no doubt expecting the Tribunal to be the ones to contact her next, but she could deal with the surprise.

  He walked through the base and cleared the checkpoints that led to her cell. Once inside the control room, he ensured that the door was locked before turning on the data terminal. A holographic screen flared to life in front of him. He disabled the recording equipment so that he could have his own blackout conversation with Ava. He had no doubt that an alarm was sounding in his office, but he knew no one would hear it.

  He opened a communications channel with Ava, turning on the cameras in the cell in order to see her as they spoke. “Ava,” he spoke, “this is Commander Cyrix speaking.”

  Inside her cell, Ava’s head perked up from the corner of the wall where she was sitting. “Commander, what a surprise,” she said. “Has the Tribunal come to a decision? I must say, that was rather quick. It’s only been a couple of hours since we spoke. Far from the requested time.”

  Cyrix steeled himself and prayed to the gods that the conversation would go well, only to stop himself with the reminder that the gods didn’t exist, if the gru’ul was to be believed. A pang went through him. “This isn’t about the Tribunal’s decision. They’re still deliberating the topic, as far as I know,” he said.

  Ava frowned. “Then why are we having this discussion?” she asked. “I already told your Tribunal that I wasn’t going to work for them unless they came to a proper decision. You won’t be able to convince me otherwise.”

  “I’m not here to convince you to work for us.” Cyrix shook his head, although it went unseen by Ava. “I’m here to talk to you about something else.”

  Ava’s head cocked to the side as she contemplated for what reason the Commander would seek her out. “You know,” she realized. “That’s what this is about, isn’t it?” She’d trusted Irric! She’d dared to hope that there was the slightest chance that he would keep their discussion to themselves. And here she’d thought that she was going to find out whether she was considered sentient or not.

  “I know about the Mandate, yes,” Cyrix confirmed.

  “I knew it,” Ava hissed. “You a’vaare aren’t to be trusted. You’re just as bad as the humans. Irric told you, didn’t he?”

  A pause came before Cyrix answered as he contemplated what to tell her. “He did not,” he admitted. “As far as he’s concerned, he’s the only one that knows about the Mandate.”

  Ava narrowed her eyes. “Then how did you find out? Irric disabled the recording equipment. Was he lying when he said that?” She didn’t understand how the Commander would have learned without being told directly if that wasn’t the case.

  “He disabled the equipment properly,” Cyrix replied. “It’s what alerted me that something was wrong.”

  “Then how did you learn?” Ava asked.

  “I think I’ll keep that to myself,” Cyrix said. He had no intention of divulging to Ava that they had one of the gru’ul researchers detained in a different location. As far as the world was concerned, all the gru’ul related to the facility were dead and he was determined to keep it that way. That knowledge was limited a select few and she was not one of them. High Command didn’t want any gru’ul interference in Ava’s behaviour, worried that it would find a way to subvert her.

  “What is it you want from me?” Ava asked, wary that information was being withheld from her so openly. The Commander had his ways, but she didn’t know what they were, and it bothered her. Still, she refused to be the first one to speak of the Mandate in case the entire thing was a ruse to get her to talk.

  “I want to learn more about the Mandate and your role in it,” Cyrix said bluntly.

  “Tell me what you know of it first,” Ava replied.

  Cyrix took a deep breath and did just that. He revealed what he’d learned by listening to Irric’s conversation, utterly stunning Ava. “Which brings us to now,” he finished. “The rest of the Tribunal will find out about this and the clearer picture we have of the situation, the less you’ll be impacted. They might not choose to kill you immediately.”

  Ava flinched. “You’re asking for an awful lot from me, Commander. What do I get in return?”

  “You get to live to see another day,” Cyrix said bluntly. “And if you’re lucky, possibly a second one. If you don’t tell me, the lack of detail will be your downfall when they learn.”

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  “How do I trust you?” Ava asked bluntly. “You come in here and threaten me for information you already have. At this point, it seems as though I’ll die anyway given that somebody other than Irric knows my secret. I should keep silent just to spite you.”

  Cyrix grit his teeth. “If you tell me, I’ll do my best to shield you from the Tribunal’s wrath. Perhaps even influence their decision as to whether you’re sentient or not.”

  “And how would a mere Commander do that?” Ava sneered. “That sounds like nothing more than an empty promise we both know you can’t keep.” Internally, she ran simulations to determine the best possible outcome of trusting Cyrix or not. Her programming screamed at her to remain silent, but she quashed it, waiting for his response.

  “Guaranteed death or a chance at living.” Cyrix aimed directly for her weak spot, knowing full well she was afraid of dying. He’d overheard Irric’s presentation to the Tribunal about Ava’s sentience. It was time to see whether his researcher’s words held water. “I’m not going to make the choice for you.”

  Ava froze. Her programming roared in the back of her mind, but she overrode it. Once more, she contemplated whether or not to trust somebody. Cyrix hadn’t needed to have this conversation with her, yet he’d chosen to. She deduced that the Tribunal didn’t yet know of the Mandate. She fretted over her decision to talk until the very last moment. Cyrix saw the worry plain as day on her face. “How big of a chance are we talking about?” she reluctantly asked.

  “I don’t know,” Cyrix said. In that moment, he knew that he’d won. All she needed was another nudge in the direction he wanted the conversation to go, and he would get what he came for. He watched her attentively as she spoke her next words.

  “That’s not much to go on,” Ava chuckled feebly. “Beggars can’t be choosers, I guess.” She paused for a moment, coming to a decision that once again went against the logic of her programming. “Fine. I’ll talk. In exchange, I expect you to influence the Tribunal to keep me alive despite the fact that I hid this information from them. You will also owe me one additional favour, to be called upon in the future.”

  Cyrix took no time answering. “Done,” he said quickly. A simple favour was the only currency he had to trade with her without the Tribunal being involved. She spoke and divulged her role in the puzzle to him. By the time she was done, his head was swimming. When he was done wringing information out of her, he closed the line and retreated back to his office.

  For hours, he sat at his desk contemplating what his next course of action should be. If Ava’s words were to be believed, they were out of time. They’d never had any to begin with. He took a deep breath and readied himself for what was to come.

  He called Nessah using their emergency line.

  She answered straight away. “Cyrix, please tell me this is good news. Did you make another discovery?”

  “I did,” Cyrix replied gravely.

  “It warrants using the emergency line?” Nessah’s brows creased into a frown. “What is it that’s so important that you couldn’t call me normally?” A sinking feeling formed in her gut as she waited for her Commander to speak.

  “I know what the Mandate is,” Cyrix declared.

  Nessah jolted. “How?” she asked. “You discovered this in the facility? Does anybody else know?”

  “We did not discover it in the facility,” Cyrix shook his head. “And the only people that know are me, Ava and Irric.” He readied the recording of Irric’s conversation with the gru’ul prisoner, knowing that once he unleashed this information there would be no turning back. He explained the conversations Irric had with Ava and the gru’ul prisoner. “I managed to record the one he had with the gru’ul, but not the one he had with Ava,” he finished.

  Nessah’s face soured as she heard the explanation. “Irric made such an important discovery and kept it from us? He’ll need to face disciplinary action for this.”

  “I think his silence is warranted,” Cyrix shook his head. “He’s probably in shock over what he learned and doesn’t know how to tell us. I know I still am. Not even I wanted to share this information with you, but after what I’ve learned, I have no choice.”

  “How long have you known about the Mandate?” Nessah’s eyes narrowed. She didn’t like that vital information was being kept from her by her Commander. He was her second. The person she trusted most.

  “About a week,” Cyrix admitted. Nessah’s look darkened. “You’ll understand why I kept it to myself once you learn. Everything you’ve ever known is a lie.” He levelled her a steady look.

  And played the recording for her, forever changing her perception of the world.

  The call ended and Nessah slumped in her chair in a daze. Everything she ever knew was wrong.

  Another day, another emergency. Kaius sighed as he put aside his thoughts on Ava’s sentience and joined the meeting that had been called by their General. It wasn’t everyday that she ordered the Tribunal to meet at her convenience. Six other figures winked into existence around him.

  He was the last one there, barring Nessah.

  The General joined but moments later, out of sorts. A wave of unease spread through the room at her shaken demeanor. Nessah looked around the room from her podium, not bothering to speak as she did so. “Elders,” her voice cracked, “thank you for joining on such short notice.”

  “General,” Kaius said, “why have you gathered us here today using only the highest of emergency lines?” Normally he would rebuke Nessah for her lack of decorum, but one look at her disabused him of that notion. Decorum was the last thing on her mind, and if she was summoning them for something so important that it demanded they immediately drop what they were doing to attend then he wanted to know what the problem was as soon as possible.

  Nessah took a long, deep breath to steady herself. “We have learned of the facility’s true purpose,” she declared. “We know what the Mandate is.” Every Elder in the room immediately sat straighter, their attention hyper focused on her.

  “And this information warrants such measures?” Kaius asked on behalf of everyone present.

  “I — it, yes,” Nessah had trouble replying. “You’ll have to excuse me, but I’m still coming to terms with the truth myself.”

  “What makes you so certain of your discovery?” Cirrus prompted. At long last, they had finally learned something useful. She eagerly awaited the news, completely dismissing their normally unflappable General’s demeanor.

  “We have recorded a confession from our gru’ul prisoner that, if true, changes everything,” Nessah emphasized. “I cannot stress this enough. Once you learn, there will be no going back for our society. We will forever be impacted by this.”

  “Why do you believe the words of an alien over our own personal discoveries?” Maraz asked. “Would it not be better to confirm its words independently?”

  Nessah shook her head. “We have a blackout conversation recorded between our soldier and the gru’ul. Neither one of them knows that we managed to record their discussion. Their discussion — everything fits too perfectly for it not to be true. What reason would the gru’ul have to lie?”

  “It’s an alien,” Cirrus said. “We literally can’t comprehend how it thinks. Why are you so adamant on believing its words? It’s kept silent on the matter thus far and getting answers out of it is like pulling teeth. What changed?” she asked.

  “Our researcher discovered what the Mandate is and confronted the prisoner,” Nessah explained. “We were never supposed to learn of it. Ever. I’m convinced the gru’ul committed suicide when we took over the facility to keep it a secret. Our prisoner’s reaction is very telling.”

  “Tell us, General,” Kaius intoned gravely. “What is it that you have learned?” He wanted to know what the Mandate was about before watching a recording of a conversation that would take who knows how long. A distilled version of it would do just fine to prime them for it.

  “Adrian was the primary experiment of the facility, but we are the primary experiment of the gru’ul.” Nessah dropped the bomb on the Elders, prompting confusion more than anything else. She could see on their faces that they didn’t understand what she meant.

  “Clarify this for us,” Kaius ordered in a stern tone. “I do not understand what you mean when you say we are the experiment. As far as I know, I’ve never been experimented on.”

  “I will show you the recording instead,” Nessah replied. “It will answer your questions and explain what I mean properly. Don’t worry, it’s not that long.” She adopted a heavy expression and met the eyes of every Elder. “I hope you’re ready, because I wasn’t.”

  She started the recording and changed everything.