The Genesis Saga Chapter 206

Adrian sat in a chair next to Jyn’s cot in the d bay while Kell was getting so much-needed rest. The worst had passed and Kell had managed to stabilize Jyn. The doctor was certain he would survive the imdiate aftermath of being shot with the chemical, but was still unsure when, or if, he would wake up at all.

The team took turns being by Jyn’s side when they could. They’d done the sa for Reya after rescuing her and in light of the circumstances, didn’t want to risk Jyn being alone when he woke up. Adrian regarded Jyn in silent contemplation, replaying the mont he’d been shot in his mind.

Many terrible things had happened to him during his ti as an experint, and Adrian was more intimate with pain than anybody else save Reya. He was fully aware of what Jyn must have felt when taking the shot for him. What perplexed Adrian was that Jyn had done so willingly and without hesitation.

Perhaps Jyn simply hadn’t seen what kind of weapon the gru’ul were aiming at him, Adrian reasoned. Perhaps he did so out of guilt or pity. For all the hate and loathing Jyn had towards Adrian, it was vexing for Adrian that he didn’t understand the man’s motivations for such selfless sacrifice.

Jyn had willingly traded his life for Adrian’s and had paid the ultimate price for it. Death would’ve been a rcy compared his suffering after being shot.

Jyn might live, but Adrian knew that waking up would only be the beginning of a long, arduous road to a full recovery. No matter what Jyn had done to him in the past, he did not wish such suffering upon the man. That desire was reserved solely for the gru’ul.

The door of the d bay opened, snapping Adrian out of his thoughts. Adrian turned his head and saw Ava standing awkwardly in the doorway, ready to enter but unsure of herself. “You can co in,” Adrian said. “Are you here to watch over Jyn or talk to ?” he asked.

Ava took a tentative step inside, and the door closed behind her, trapping her with Adrian. “Both,” she replied nervously. She’d spent the last month splitting her ti between decoding the data crystal she’d stolen as well as watching over Jyn — usually when Adrian wasn’t around. Having him in the room with her was suffocating. Guilt washed over her every ti she thought of both n and the role she’d personally played in their suffering.

Adrian regarded Ava carefully, who was still standing frozen in the entry. He sighed. “Co take my seat,” he said. “I was about to leave anyway,” he lied. He stood and gestured towards the now empty chair. He knew Ava was uncomfortable around him. Her squirming might have offered so relief in the past, but not anymore. Her presence was equally as uncomfortable for him as his was for her. He’d spent much of the last month onboard the ship studiously avoiding her.

Ava took Adrian up on his offer and approached him carefully and full of trepidation. She’d hoped she was able to mask her emotions well, but they were clear as day to Adrian, which made it all the more difficult to be around her.

Ava sat down, keeping her gaze firmly on Jyn. Several tense monts passed until she spoke. “It’s my fault,” she said softly, her voice thick with emotion. “Jyn,” she said before turning her head to look at Adrian directly. “You,” she continued. “My entire existence has revolved around hurting others or condemning them to horrible deaths.” Her face dropped. “I heard Jyn’s screams. We all did. They were horrible.”

Though Adrian kept a blank mask while Ava spoke, conflicting emotions warred inside of him. His anger at the role she’d played in what had been done to him roared its ugly head while a new, budding pity held it back from exploding out from him. “I don’t think what happened to Jyn was necessarily your fault,” he said reluctantly. “If anything, it was mine. If I’d paid more attention to my surroundings, Jyn wouldn’t have had to take a bullet for .”

Ava shook her head. “It was because of my insistence that we stopped at the Highest’s restricted room on the way out. That choice could have saved Jyn and the others from being shot with the orange chemical or outright killed defending while I was inside, protected from the fighting. If we had kept going, our montum would have let us escape relatively unscathed.”

“Relatively unscathed doesn’t an that there wouldn’t have been any casualties if we’d done things differently,” Adrian pointed out. “The contingent of gru’ul that the soldiers bravely fended off while you were doing your thing probably would have still converged on us, simply at a later location. We would have still had to fight them. Other people, maybe even you and , would have been shot or killed. That fight was inevitable as far as I’m concerned.”

Ava loosed a small laugh. It was hollow and devoid of any warmth. “Are you trying to comfort right now? After everything I’ve done? I don’t deserve that, nor do I want your pity.”

“It’s not about comforting you,” Adrian replied. “I’m still upset over what you’ve done, and I don’t know if I’ll ever have it in to forgive you.” Ava flinched at his words, and Adrian sohow felt bad about them, even though he didn’t think he should. “If you really want to bla sobody, bla . If I hadn’t been captured, there wouldn’t have been a rescue mission in the first place. How many died to save ?”

Ava remained silent. “Too many,” she admitted. “You’re special. That’s sothing everyone can agree on, even if nobody knows why. But the sheer loss of life that happened during the mission,” Ava said, “I don’t believe any one person is worth that. No matter how special they are.”

“I agree,” Adrian said solemnly. “I’m still baffled as to why they ca for , even though Rann explained it to .” He looked back towards Jyn. “I couldn’t contribute to the fighting. Not really. I had to watch strangers — good people — die for . I could only follow along with what others wanted to do.” He loosed a broken chuckle. “Story of my life. I haven’t had true freedom in so long. I can’t rember the last ti I wasn’t subjected to the will of another. Even on Verilia, I was held hostage at the safe house.”

“Do you feel bad about what happened during the mission?” Ava couldn’t help but ask. “You hate Jyn. Why do you care so much about him now?” Adrian’s actions perplexed her. By all accounts, she theorized that Adrian should be relishing in what had happened to Jyn. She’d spent so ti speaking with the others and had learned a surprising amount about the two n’s history. After all, there wasn’t that much to do on the ship during their return to Verilia.

“Hate is a strong word,” Adrian said, lost in thought. He couldn’t bla Ava for her thoughts. He presud that talking with the others had given her a bias towards his and Jyn’s relationship. “I do not hate Jyn. I strongly dislike him for how he’s acted since rescuing , but I will ultimately be forever grateful that he did so. He found . Brought to safety. In a strange way, he contributed to how close Reya and I beca when we first t. I have never once wished upon him such suffering,” he finished sadly. “I do not wish such misery upon anybody save the gru’ul.”

“Does that extend to , since the gru’ul made ?” Ava couldn’t help but ask. She needed to know, even though she feared the answer. “Do you want to suffer like Jyn has?”

Adrian flinched as though he’d been slapped. “You really think so little of ?” he asked, bewildered. “Unlike you, I know exactly what those chemicals do to a person. I don’t know how they would affect you given your origins, but that doesn’t an I want you to suffer that much.”

Ava stared at Adrian in quiet contemplation, processing what he’d said. “But you still wish suffering upon ,” she concluded.

“Maybe at one point,” Adrian admitted. “Now, I’m not so sure.”

“Why?” Ava asked.

“I don’t know myself,” Adian replied with a shrug. “Maybe I’ll have an answer for you one day but today won’t be it.” Deciding he’d had enough of the heavy conversation, he turned to leave. Ava didn’t stop him, unable to say anything.

She watched the door to the d bay close, deep in contemplation over the new information she’d learned.

***

After Adrian left, Ava turned and regarded Jyn. For a long while, she sat in silence, her processors trying in vain to determine why Jyn had sacrificed himself for Adrian given their history together. No matter how much she thought about it, she never could co to an answer that made sense. Jyn’s convictions should have led him to letting Adrian take the bullet.

The conundrum confused Ava.

She diverted more energy to the problem, splitting her focus between decoding the data crystal’s contents she’d downloaded into her dataspace and solving the mystery that was Jyn. Though Tassie had kindly offered her help, Ava knew that she could decode the data crystal faster alone. She was already almost done. The ship was due to drop out of hyperspace soon, but Ava was confident that she’d complete her task by that ti, even at a slightly slower pace.

Eyes focused on Jyn, she decided to really look at him. His face was not peaceful and his breathing was unsteady. Kell had claid to have induced a coma, but Ava wasn’t sure even that was enough to provide true relief from being shot with the orange chemical. Jyn’s fingers twitched, the action barely perceptible, even to her.

Jyn had to have known, she deduced. After months of fighting the gru’ul on Verilia, she was confident that all of his faction’s soldiers had been briefed on what the specialized guns looked like, if only so they could avoid them at all costs.

Which ant Jyn had known exactly what he was doing when he took the shot for Adrian. But Ava knew Jyn hated Adrian deeply. She diverted more processing power to her logic circuits, unable to understand why sobody would make such a sacrifice for their enemy. Hypothesis after hypothesis was tested and pondered, but none of them ever arrived at a satisfactory solution. Ava eventually determined that the only way to understand would be to ask Jyn himself, once he woke up.

If he woke up, she anded.

Tentatively, she reached for his hand and put it in hers. She knew that organic lifeforms might find the action comforting. After everything she’d done to others, perhaps she could grant relief instead pain, no matter how minor it may be. Her gaze returned to Jyn’s face and she could’ve sworn that it looked more peaceful than before. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze, but didn’t receive one back.

Ava couldn’t help but feel disappointed that she’d had so little impact on Jyn’s wellbeing. Understanding how to help others did not co naturally to her, for her purpose had been one of death and destruction prior to her becoming self-aware. Ava decided that she would work on that later. She wanted to be better than she’d been in the past. Perhaps she should ask the others how to properly empathize with others. She was still new to understanding emotions, but she was confident that with their help she would be able to properly label what she was feeling at all tis.

The door to the d bay opened, interrupting her thoughts. Kell strode in and made his way towards her and Jyn. “We’re going to drop out of hyperspace in a few minutes,” he said. “You should strap in.”

“I know what the transition out of hyperspace entails,” Ava responded. “Strapping in isn’t strictly necessary.”

“That may be the case,” Kell agreed, “but we can’t afford to have anything happen to you given your work on the Highest’s data crystal.” He focused on securing Jyn to his bed, ensuring that nothing bad would happen to him during the transition. “Co back to the bridge with the rest of us where it’s safe.”

Ava glanced towards Jyn. “I’d rather stay here,” she said resolutely. “I don’t want Jyn to be alone, even if he doesn’t know I’m here.”

Kell sighed. “Fine,” he said, resigned. “Can you at least strap into the ergency chair in the d bay?” he asked. “You can co straight back to Jyn’s side once we’ve dropped out of hyperspace.”

Ava nodded. “That,” she said, “I can do.” She stood up and followed Kell to where she could safely strap in. She allowed Kell to help secure her to the chair and soon, he left to join the others back on the bridge.

Ava counted down the minutes until suddenly, without warning, space twisted and she felt her insides turn in on themselves. She knew, logically, that nothing untoward was happening to her, but no matter how many tis she experienced the sensation, it was still just as disconcerting as the first ti.

The ship lurched and Ava wasted no ti undoing her restraints. She rushed towards Jyn, who was thrashing against the restraints Kell had imposed on him. Against her better judgent, she undid them, hoping to grant Jyn so form of reprieve.

Jyn did not calm down as she’d hoped. Instead, his thrashing only grew worse and she was forced to pin him down. It was with great difficulty that she managed to refasten the restraints for his legs and arms.

Kell ca rushing back into the d bay to check on Jyn after the drop out of hyperspace. “Go back into your seat,” he instructed. “We’re going to make contact with the enemy soon. We need to break through them and land at the main base unscathed. Rann is communicating with High Command as we speak and as of this mont, we are their most important payload.”

As though to prove his point, the ship rocked violently from a stray energy beam making contact with its shields. Ava’s eyes widened and she rushed back to the ergency seat she was just in and strapped herself back in.

“How long until we make it back to Verilia?” Ava asked.

“We dropped out of hyperspace as close to the planet as we could,” Kell explained quickly. “Unfortunately, that put us right in the middle of the swarm. Backup is on its way, and Tassie estimates that it’ll be another half hour until we touch down at the main base.”

“Assuming we don’t get blown up in the anti,” Ava said grimly.”

“Exactly,” Kell replied. “I’m going to leave you to watch over Jyn. I need to go back to the bridge to help man the weapon systems.” He gave once last glance back towards Jyn and ran out of the d bay to join the others, leaving Ava and Jyn alone in the eerie calm before the storm.

Ava’s systems went into overdrive. The countdown until they arrived was the longest half hour of her life. Her processors simulated all of the horrible ways they would die in transit, estimating their odds of survival to be depressingly slim. She clutched the edge of her seat tightly and gnashed her teeth.

Jyn was still straining against his restraints. His thrashing had cald down sowhat but was still cause for concern. Ava kept close tabs on his condition in an attempt to distract herself from her impending doom. She filed away the changes in his behaviour for later, once the arrived at the main base where he could be attended to by a dedicated team of dical staff.

Ava tried not to think too hard about dying a horrible death in the cold expanse of space that surrounded them but found it increasingly difficult the more the ship was rocked by incoming attacks.

Though she wasn’t one for religion — especially now that she knew that there were no true gods — it didn’t stop her from sending a prayer to the universe to help them survive the onslaught of her creators.

The ship shook violently many tis, but eventually the shaking stopped. Ava sensed that they were slowing down and hoped dearly that it ant they had arrived. An almost imperceptible jerk alerted her that they’d co to a stop. Without wasting any ti, she freed herself and ran towards the bridge, where she t up with the others.

“Kell, prepare Jyn for transport,” Rann barked. The doctor in question rushed out of the bridge to check on his patient. Rann hardly spared Ava a glance but still took note that she had joined them on the bridge. “The rest of you, prepare to exit,” Rann continued. “We’ve arrived at our destination and our first stop is General Nessah’s office.” She turned to face Ava. “You’d better have that data crystal fully decoded.”

Ava nodded. “I’ve finished decoding it and have compiled the data into proper reports,” she confird.

“Good,” Rann said, her relief palpable. “You’re to follow , Eimir, and Beor to see the General imdiately. High Command is going to want that information as soon as possible.”

“Understood,” Ava said.

“What about and Tassie?” Adrian asked.

“Follow us too,” Rann said. “I feel like High Command is going to place more emphasis on Ava’s information for now, but they might want to ask you questions as well.” Rann received the all-clear from the base to exit the ship and ordered everybody to follow.

The group wound their way through the ship’s halls and descended the ramp, only to see Jyn be whisked away by dical staff while Kell explained the situation. Adrian hardly had the ti to spare before he was brought though a separate set of doors along with everybody else.

Rann seed to know where she was going, as did the others, so Adrian simply followed along. The realization that he’d made it ho alive only hit him as the ascended in the elevator towards Nessah’s office.

The group flitted through the large doors to Nessah’s office, with Adrian still in a daze. He hardly heard what was being said between the others, his attention focused solely on finding Reya. “Where’s Reya?” he asked when he couldn’t find her, interrupting the conversation.

Nessah’s gaze turned soft when she beheld the desperation in Adrian’s expression. “She was in an accident,” she said gently. “Right now, she’s still recovering in the hospital.”

Adrian flinched as though he’d been slapped. “Is she alright?” he asked in a panic.

Nessah smiled. “She’s perfectly fine, all things considered. Her transport was hit by flying debris during a gru’ul attack. All things considered, she got out relatively unscathed.”

“Where is she?” Adrian demanded. “I need to see her,” he pleaded.

Without responding, Nessah opened a line directly to her secretary, Sytha. “Sytha,” Nessah commanded, “take Mr. Blackwood to see Ms. Ayala in her hospital room.” The doors to her office opened a mont later, and Sytha escorted Adrian out of the room.

Adrian followed along, worried to no end for Reya. He hoped dearly she wasn’t hurt. The entire walk towards her hospital room was a blur to Adrian. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he hardly noticed his surroundings.

Finally, Sytha stopped in front of a plain, unassuming door. She opened it with a knowing smile and backed away, making herself obsolete. Adrian stood in the doorway as ti ground to a halt. There, lying on the bed resting, was Reya. “Reya?” Adrian called out tentatively.

Reya’s eyes snapped open at the sound of Adrian’s voice. She turned her head and drank in the sight of him, safe and sound. Tears welled in her eyes. Her other half had made it back to her. She feared that it was but a dream but chose to believe it to be reality. “Have I ever told you how much I love you?” she said.

Adrian ran towards her and gently wrapped her in his arms. “Yes,” he said, unable to hold back his own tears, “but you can say it again.”

Reya started crying in earnest. “I thought I’d never see you again,” she said between sobs. She clutched Adrian tightly, as though he would disappear again at any mont.

“ neither,” Adrian choked. “You can thank the others. They’re the ones who brought back to you.” His tears spilled and wet Reya’s hospital gown, but neither of them noticed. He buried his head in her neck and for a mont, all was right again. He was back ho and beside Reya once more.

He was finally back where he belonged.