A lie.

  Everything was a lie.

  Jyn didn’t return to the safe house that evening, his mind unable ignore the ramifications of the secret he’d learned. He couldn’t bring himself to look at the others and be the one to shatter their blissful ignorance. Adrian was the last person he wanted to see, for he was unsure what to make of him now.

  Nothing would ever be the same.

  Rann noticed Jyn’s absence but figured he was preoccupied speaking with Nessah and going over potential new orders. The following morning, Jyn snuck into the house, hoping to make it to his room unseen. Rann was already up and waiting for him at the kitchen table, thoroughly dashing any plans he had of going unnoticed.

  “You look awful,” Rann stated, taking in her Captain’s condition. It wasn’t hard for her to see that something was wrong. She’d known Jyn for a long time. Being able to get a read on him was a skill she’d naturally developed as his second in command over the years they’d been together. She gave him a moment to piece himself together. “What happened?” she asked softly.

  Jyn could only stare at Rann, the truth on the tip of his tongue. He couldn’t bring himself to say anything, even though he knew she would find out eventually. His face scrunched up as he fought the urge to speak. “It’s not something you need to worry about right now,” he ultimately said. Shame filled him at his cowardice.

  Rann frowned. “Did you learn how the leak happened?” she asked. If Jyn wasn’t going to tell her what the problem was, she’d simply wait a little bit before asking again.

  “Yes,” Jyn confirmed. Rann waited expectantly for him to continue, but he didn’t give her that satisfaction. “I’ll have a meeting with the team later to inform everybody all at the same time about what I learned.”

  “Fine,” Rann sighed. “I just feel like the longer we wait to know, the more this is going to impact Reya.”

  “There’s nothing we can do,” Jyn said hollowly. “Nothing at all.”

  Rann didn’t know what to make of the comment. “We’re stuck here at the safe house, so I guess you’re right.” She scrutinized Jyn further, noting his pale complexion. “Are you sure you’re alright?” she asked again.

  Jyn flashed her a wan smile. “I’m fine,” he said stiffly. His eyes flicked to the stairs. “I’m going to go get some rest. It’s been a long night.” His tone left no room for argument against the lame excuse Rann knew he was trying to use to avoid talking about any specifics. She could only watch as he left her behind and ascended the stairs.

  The faint click of a door shutting was the last thing she heard, the house turning silent once more.

  Sleep never came for Jyn, despite his best efforts. There was simply too much on his mind. He stared at the ceiling from his bed, wondering where it all went wrong. A simple recon mission to a dead sector, he’d been told. Nothing much to expect, he’d figured.

  He marveled at how wrong he’d been.

  Reaching over to the nightstand next to the bed, he picked up the data slate on it. It was his old one once confiscated by Rann that he’d taken from the ship. He went through the images he had stored on it. Though there wasn’t much that was recent, he wasn’t bothered by the fact. He instead went back to the beginning. The first team photo they’d taken together. The bar they’d celebrated at after their first mission. Beor passed out drunk at the table and Rann taking care of him. That was before they became a couple. Even in the early days, there was something between them.

  The same way he’d had a connection with Reya.

  He stopped on a picture of just the two of them, leaning in close to each other. They both had beaming smiles and were the happiest in the room. A knot welled up in his chest over how he’d lost her. For too long, he’d toed the line between being her boss and something more.

  His reluctance had cost him the person most important to him, for she’d chosen another man over him.

  And yet, for all the joy the moment onscreen held, it was all a lie. They’d lived in blissful ignorance of the truth. Jyn longed to return back to those days, from before they’d met Adrian. Before he came along, life was good. He’d been happy.

  Now his team was against him, angry and frustrated that he needed to be their boss over being their friend. He took every precaution he felt was necessary in the face of the unknown and in return he’d been hated and scorned.

  He’d already lost Reya once before to the gru’ul and again to Adrian. He couldn’t deny that the two of them would undoubtedly be at the heart of the war. The thought of losing her a third time was almost too much to bear, nor did he want any harm to befall his other teammates.

  But he couldn’t protect them this time.

  He could only hope that there would be no real casualties once the fighting began. Time was running out if the Tribunal was preparing the world for Adrian’s existence. In light of what he’d come to learn, he couldn’t even fault them for how they’d put Reya at the forefront. Where before there was anger, now there was only grim acceptance. He didn’t like it. The others might not understand but he did. It was his job. And once again, they’d place the blame on him for things out of his control.

  Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

  It was never his intention to hurt those most important to him, but he knew there was no avoiding shattering everyone’s core beliefs. The only thing was that he didn’t know how. How could he tell his friends their lives were a lie?

  Death was marching to the drums of war and soon it would claim countless a’vaare lives. If his time was to come, he wanted it to be protecting his friends, even if they had their issues with him. He would do his best to make sure no harm befell them.

  His gaze went back to the picture, a reminder of simpler times. He swiped his finger to the side to view the next picture. The team was celebrating Reya’s birthday for the first time and by the gods he knew no longer existed did they all look happy. Tears welled in his eyes. Those days were gone now.

  Forever.

  He kept going, picture after picture. By the time he’d caught up to the present, tears were streaming down his face. His eyes were hot, and he couldn’t fight the knot in his chest. Overwhelmed, he let himself cry silently. Curled up on his side, he wept into a pillow to muffle the sound. He needed to be the strong one. The leader.

  Yet in his moment of weakness, he found himself utterly alone.

  There was no one to hold him and tell him everything would be alright. No one to cheer him up and show him that life still held joy, even though he was nothing but an experiment, the same as Adrian.

  He lost track of time, stuck in a daze of turbulent emotions. His tears were the only outlet he allowed himself, a luxury he could never afford as the team leader until now. A chime from his data slate snapped him out of his stupor. It was the General calling.

  Jyn dabbed his red, puffy eyes with his sleeve and answered after a moment’s delay. Nessah appeared onscreen, her expression grim.

  “Captain,” she said, carefully taking in his state. She knew it wasn’t the time to burden Jyn with more unpleasant news, but she had no choice. “There’s an update to your mission your team needs to be made aware of.”

  Jyn snapped to attention, clearing his head and putting his emotions aside in record time. “What’s happened? Are the gru’ul invading? Have they found out what we know?”

  “Nothing so dire yet,” Nessah reassured him. “There’s been a leak to the Rukkan Faction. Somehow, they’ve been made aware of the purple chemical as well as Adrian’s existence. They provided video evidence that we were hard-pressed to refute.”

  “Did Irric leak the information?” Jyn asked. “He’s the one who made the discovery and who has access to that information.” He’d never worked closely with Irric. The man was still largely an unknown to him. In light of the situation, Jyn found it hard to extend him any trust.

  “We don’t know yet,” Nessah replied. “We’re investigating. Somehow, his data slate was hacked not once, but twice. We don’t know how. We’ve had Tassie look into the situation in the past and she’s the one who confirmed the breach. Given her access to such highly classified information, she’s currently a suspect as well.”

  “You think she’s behind this?” Jyn asked, shocked. He refused to believe that Tassie would do such a thing. They might not be on the best of terms, but he knew her well and trusted her. Yet, he couldn’t deny that the list of suspects was short and that she would naturally be one given the situation.

  “We can’t rule out the possibility. The fact that there’s a leak is irrelevant right now. The Rukkan have sent their High Diplomat to question us. He’s entered our solar system and is set to arrive on Verilia imminently. His destination will be the safe house you’re at.”

  Jyn’s eyes widened. “The Tribunal is allowing this?”

  “The Tribunal has deemed it the best course of action,” Nessah said. “They’ve arranged for the High Diplomat to arrive at one of our military bases. Your team will pick him up and transport him safely back to the safe house. He is permitted to enter contact with Adrian, alone should he wish. You are not to interfere with their discussions.”

  “What are we to do while he’s here?” Jyn questioned. He needed more information, especially if he was to relay their new orders to the team. They would surely have questions, and he needed specifics to be able to properly answer them.

  “You are to ensure no harm befalls him,” Nessah said. “Ensure that he has no way of transmitting your location back to his faction.”

  “Will he be alone?” Jyn asked.

  Nessah smiled for the first time, her eyes cold. “He will have a guard retinue, and we presume they will be armed. You are to eliminate them such that neither Reya, Adrian nor the diplomat get hurt.” Her sharp tone could cut steel. “The Rukkan have trespassed into Sunalii territory without invitation, stolen the most important military information of our era and have threatened us with war should we ignore their wishes. There will be retribution for their actions and their slights. They believe us to be their equals and dare threaten us. The Sunalii don’t do threats. We make promises. And the only one we made was guaranteeing the High Diplomat’s safety. Everybody else they intruded with will be eliminated.”

  Jyn’s eyes hardened. “Understood,” he said. “Will you also destroy the ship they came in?”

  Nessah’s smile grew wider. “Naturally,” she said. “This will be the perfect opportunity to test our military’s upgrades before the war with the gru’ul commences in full. The Tribunal is eager to see how effective our new weapons truly are.”

  Jyn reflected on what he’d been told and hesitated before asking his next question. “Won’t this risk war between our factions? Can we afford that if we are to fight the gru’ul?”

  “It probably will,” Nessah admitted. “The Rukkan treat their High Diplomats with an incredible amount of respect. They hold immense authority when it comes to external relations. If their diplomat is so blatantly threatening us, then the Rukkan have already considered war a likely outcome. It’s our job to dissuade them of that notion with a practical example.”

  “We’re going to make the High Diplomat a hostage,” Jyn realized. “He’s never going to leave the safe house, is he?”

  “That’s correct,” Nessah said. “He’s successfully deduced that we somehow have access to gru’ul technology. That’s dangerous information and we don’t want him giving away any specifics yet. You are to ensure he has no means of contact with his faction while he’s in your care.”

  “I’ll inform Tassie, and we’ll take precautions.” Jyn was already planning guard duty, his mind spinning with different scenarios. His team was to see live combat and they needed to be ready. Everybody had their role to play, and it was his job to optimize each person. “When do we leave to pick up the diplomat?”

  “You leave in three hours. Your full team bar one person is to be present on the ship, geared for combat and fully armed. Ensure our guests have no access to the bridge and that they have no means of taking over the ship. You are to eliminate the guards after arriving at the safe house. That is all for now, soldier. You have a mission to organize. Failure is not an option.” Nessah ended the call.

  Jyn took a deep breath, the smooth mask of a Captain sliding back onto his face. It was time for an emergency meeting.