Mihn strode through her modestly sized house and into the kitchen to get herself something to drink. The house was too small and plain for her liking — she was always meant for grander things — and she knew one day she’d finally get what she deserved. Until then, she was stuck in something average, a fact which grated on her to no end. She hardly ever entertained, too embarrassed to present such a small dwelling to the more affluent members of her social circle.
She poured herself a glass of juice and leaned against the counter, daydreaming of the lifestyle she was destined for. The data slate on the nearby dining table rang, snapping her out of her musings. Muttering unkind words under her breath at being disturbed, she went over to see who was responsible for the annoyance.
When she saw who was calling, Mihn sighed deeply. Reluctantly, she answered. She wasn’t in the mood to deal with her acquaintance, an incessant gossip that never seemed to shut up. Willing a smile on her face, she played the part of the excited friend when Yara’s image appeared before her.
“Mihn!” Yara greeted with overenthusiasm. “Are you ready to see the big reveal?”
Mihn frowned. There were so many things that Yara considered to be important that it was hard to keep track of them all. After a moment’s thought, she remembered. “You mean about the rumoured Silver Star holder? That’s today?” she asked.
“It is!” Yara exploded. “Can you believe it? There’s another Silver Star holder! It’s been all everybody’s been talking about lately. Apparently the military sanctioned an interview with the person and they’re going to air it in a couple of minutes. Are you going to watch?”
Personally, Mihn had no interest. Yes, the Silver Star was a medal of great prestige, but what good did it do her to learn about somebody else getting it? She had nothing to gain from somebody else stealing the spotlight for something that ultimately didn’t matter that much. She’d never understood the obsession over the award. After all, it was only a piece of metal. However, she had to keep up appearances. “I’d completely forgotten about it, thank you for reminding me,” she said sweetly.
“To think we get to witness a once in a generation event — no wait, this is something even rarer than that,” Yara gushed. “I can’t wait to see who it is. There’s been some speculation, but I’ve avoided learning so I can be properly surprised.”
Mihn raised a brow. Yara, waiting for juicy news? That was rare. The woman lived off of her gossip. It was baffling that she’d gone so long without learning. “I thought for sure you’d know who was receiving it,” Mihn said.
“It’s pointless without an official confirmation from the military,” Yara said, waving Mihn off. “I didn’t want to be blindsided with it not being who I expected it to be. This way, I get to have the full experience and be surprised right proper.”
“I see,” Mihn said slowly. “So the military’s giving an official statement? How will we know it’s not somebody posing as a military officer?”
“The news channel airing it said we’d have no doubt as to the veracity of the interview, but they didn’t say who the spokesperson is,” Yara explained.
“That’s odd,” Mihn hummed. Mentally, she prepared herself for a sham interview. It would be nothing but smoke and mirrors without having somebody of high enough ranking delivering the news. The military’s reaction to the press release in the coming days would confirm whether the interview spoke the truth. She pitied the poor news anchor should they be lying. It would be the end of their career, not counting whatever punishment the military would impose on them for the impersonation.
“It’s about to start!” Yara squealed. “Do you want to watch it together?”
Mihn took one look at Yara’s expression and sighed internally. There was no getting out of this one. “I’d love to!” she exclaimed with false enthusiasm. “Let me turn on the holoscreen so I can properly watch it.” Her kitchen gave way to her living room. She walked through the arch that separated the rooms and sat down on her dark grey leather couch. Using her data slate, she willed a large holoscreen to appear a comfortable distance away from her and tuned in to the channel Yara told her to watch.
“It’s starting!” Yara said excitedly.
Mihn focused her attention on the screen in front of her and froze. Two women were seated in black leather chairs facing the camera with a beautiful wooden table between them. On the table was an exquisite wooden box. What stole her attention weren’t those details nor the beautiful reporter but rather the unmistakable figure of General Nessah sitting next to her. Her jaw dropped at the fact that the General herself was personally making a statement and she almost missed what was being said. “—this is Miarre Kiala reporting in with breaking news.”
“Holy shit,” Yara said for the both of them, “the General is the one making the statement? How on Verilia did they manage that?” Silently, Mihn agreed. She found it hard to believe that a news station had managed to get the General of all people to agree to an interview. Both women watched with rapt attention, waiting for the august figure to speak.
The reporter got the introductions out of the way — not that the General needed any — and the world sat on the edge of their seats waiting for what would be said next. “There is indeed a new Silver Star holder,” Nessah confirmed, eliciting a gasp from Yara. Mihn ignored her and focused back on the interview. “For her trials and tribulations, the Tribunal has unanimously agreed to bestow upon Reya Ayala this honour.”
Mihn froze.
“Mihn,” Yara said in a shaky voice, “isn’t that your daughter who ran away?” As one of Mihn’s longest standing friends, she’d been told an abridged version of the events that had happened more than eight years ago and instantly recognized the name.
“That’s impossible,” Mihn replied, shaken. “There must be some kind of mistake. There’s no way that failure would have accomplished something so important without me.” A single voicemail — that was all she’d received when her daughter had gone missing without a trace. She’d initially ignored the call and only got around to listening to the message several days later when she remembered it even existed.
At first, she hadn’t been worried, confident Reya would return when she realized she wouldn’t be able to survive on her own for long. Before she knew it, a month had passed with no sign of her daughter. When a year had gone by, she was forced to admit that she wouldn’t see her daughter again. It had been the final nail in the coffin for her marriage, finally freeing her from her fool of a husband. In that regard, Reya being gone had made things much easier for her in her life. What in the hells did my daughter do? Mihn wondered.
Both women forced their attention to return back to the interview, their eyes drawn to the beautiful Silver Star that was now on display. “Is there any chance we could meet her?” Miarre inquired.
“She’s here with us now, I’ll call for her,” Nessah smiled softly. She tapped her bracelet before continuing. “That will be all from me for today. Miss Ayala can take my place.” She gracefully left the stage after being thanked for her time. From where she’d disappeared from, a person with long platinum hair wearing a long-sleeved midnight blue blouse walked on set.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Mihn stared slack jawed as the unmistakable figure of her daughter settled into the empty chair next to the reporter. Miarre’s gaze flicked to the scar on Reya’s face, drawing attention to it. The interview continued, but Mihn only heard it distantly as she grappled with the fact that her disfigured daughter was in the spotlight for reasons she refused to divulge.
The entire discussion she listened to remained vague, not shedding any light as to why Reya had been awarded the Silver Star, much to the world’s disappointment. Had it not been for the General’s personal confirmation, Mihn would have never believed her daughter to be capable of earning something so prestigious.
The interview came to an end all too soon, leaving her with more questions than answers. Yara’s voice interrupted her inner turmoil. “You never told me your daughter joined the military or that she’d risen through the ranks so quickly as to be able to earn the Silver Star.”
“I didn’t know,” Mihn stammered. “She never said where she was going when she left. Simply that she couldn’t handle being with us anymore.”
Yara gave her friend a long, assessing gaze while she gathered her thoughts. “Still, I wonder if we’ll ever know what it is that she did. That’s not something the Tribunal issues lightly. The only other instances in recent history were all during the Great Wars, and those were pretty exceptional times. Last I checked, we aren’t at war with anyone, so why’d she get the Silver Star?”
“I don’t know,” Mihn replied bitterly. “For all we know, the entire thing is fake.”
Yara bit her lip. “I don’t think so. Not with the General backing the statement. Hopefully they’ll tell us what happened one day. Do you think you’d be able to talk to her and find out? You’re her mother, surely you’d be allowed to see her.”
Gears started spinning in Mihn’s mind as she processed the thought. “That’s right,” she said. “Shouldn’t I be entitled to see my estranged daughter? They can’t hide her away forever.”
“Let me know how the reunion goes. I’m sure Reya’s just dying to see you again after all these years away. Especially now that she’s famous. Wouldn’t that make for a great story? Mother and daughter reconnect after her ordeal. The press would eat that up.”
They sure would, Mihn thought. She grinned. Finally, a chance to be something more than average. “I think I need some time to process this, Yara. I’ll talk to you later.” Surprised by the abruptness of the statement, Yara didn’t even have the time to respond before Mihn ended the call. “Now then, how can I use this?”
A shiver ran through him despite the heat. Stanley curled up in his bed, trying not to focus on his ever-growing dread. No real progress had been made by Kell since he’d given him the extra samples to study and with each passing day he felt himself grow weaker. Time was running out and he knew it. Waking up was becoming harder and he feared that one day he would go to sleep and draw his last breath without ever knowing.
The others left him mostly alone. He was slowly progressing in his language lessons under Adrian’s tutelage but his motivation to learn diminished alongside his declining health. Without a cure in sight, he saw no point in spending his limited time learning the a’vaarian language.
Still, he made an effort. He wanted to have at the very least a rudimentary understanding of what was happening around him. While basic words and sentences were all that he knew, it was enough for his needs to be met when Adrian wasn’t around.
He could hear the others gathering outside the room, the noise they were making not quiet enough to allow him to rest properly. Idly, he wondered why the others were together, as it was only mid-afternoon.
The noise abruptly stopped as everyone quieted, for reasons unknown to him. A single voice filtered through the door, muffled enough that he couldn’t quite make out what was being said. He forced his aching limbs to throw the off the covers and got out of bed. Attempting to rest was futile at this point.
He sat up in his bed and closed his eyes, taking one last deep breath before rising and leaving his room. Almost immediately, he noticed the others gathered around the holoscreen in the living room, where Nessah was seated next to someone he didn’t recognize.
Curious, he joined the others and quietly asked Adrian what was happening. He was filled in on the group’s newest development and watched the screen attentively with the others. A shudder passed through him, unbidden, but no one noticed, their attention focused on Reya’s figure onscreen.
Of course, he’d been aware that Reya had done an interview but to actually see it made it feel real. Before, the fact had been a nebulous concept that didn’t affect anyone and while it still didn’t mean anything to him, Stanley could at least acknowledge that it was important to the others, if their fixation with her appearance onscreen was any indication.
He stood amongst the others, only understanding bits and pieces of what was being said. In what felt like no time at all, it was over. The others broke out into quiet discussion with what he assumed was commentary on what they’d all just watched. He made eye contact with Kell, who looked like he had something to say to him. “Does he want something from me?” he asked Adrian.
After a moment’s delay, he got his response. “He does, actually,” Adrian replied. “He’d like to speak with you in private in the music room.” A quick exchange between Adrian and Kell occurred, with Adrian sounding less than impressed. “Follow me, I’ll translate. Kell’s promised that he won’t reveal anything about what he’s been studying, just that he wants to ask you some questions.”
The trio excused themselves from the group and Stanley soon found himself face to face with a grim-faced doctor. Kell spoke, shifting his gaze between him and Adrian while he tried his best not to cough and display any signs of weakness. “He says that there’s been no progress with his research,” Adrian informed him. “He’d like for you to give him more samples — same as what you gave him last time — so that he can compare the changes over time.” Kell spoke some more, prompting Adrian to go silent as he listened.
“What he has isn’t enough?” Stanley asked, concerned. “I know I said I’d cooperate, but I’m starting to feel a bit like a lab rat.” Already he found that he was giving a lot of material for the doctor to study. He assumed that that would be enough and wasn’t keen on giving away more.
Adrian snorted derisively. “I told you they wouldn’t stop. They’re going to keep asking, always claiming it’ll be for your own good.”
“In this case, it probably is,” Stanley said, unconvincingly. He could only hope that the Tribunal truly had his best interests in mind, but each time they came knocking for more samples he grew less sure. Maybe Adrian’s right, he thought, doubt creeping in. Do they really need these extra samples from me? What are they really looking for? He could feel another cough coming and did his best to repress it, turning it instead into an awkward throat clearing. Hiding the pain that came alongside the action, he made up his mind. They need to know more if I want to live. “I’ll give him what he wants,” he said to Adrian. “I’ll just have to trust them. Bring me to the med bay.”
Adrian regarded Stanley, carefully keeping his face blank. He turned towards Kell. “He agrees to give you the samples you want. Get Ava for this, because I don’t want to be anywhere near the med bay. I’ll escort him there, but that’ll be it.”
“I’ve already arranged for Ava to help out. Irric is expecting my call to have her translate for me. There’s nothing you need to do except bring him onboard.”
“Is there a reason I need to be there at all?” Adrian asked.
“I need you to help guide Stanley and get him settled. Once that’s done, you can leave,” Kell promised. After Adrian’s previous reaction in the med bay when he’d drawn Stanley’s blood, Kell didn’t want Adrian spending more time in distress when it could be easily avoided. He didn’t know what was done to the man, but the mere fact that he was no longer the same species as Stanley was enough to give him pause when thinking about it.
“Fine,” Adrian replied reluctantly. “I’ll do that for you, but that’s it. I’m not coming back onboard to collect him once you’re done with him. Figure that out yourself.”
“I think I’ll be able to manage once I’ve got Ava on the line,” Kell replied smoothly.
The three of them left the music room and walked past the group that was still gathered in the living room. A worried Reya stopped Adrian and received a quick update on the situation before letting them go about their task on the ship. Kell collected Eimir to act as a secondary escort so as not to leave Adrian unattended on the ship when he left and soon they were walking up the boarding ramp and through the halls towards the med bay. When they arrived, Adrian stopped short of the door, allowing the others to file past him into the room.
He never entered.
