The Genesis Saga

Reya was surrounded by warmth and comfort. Half-awake, she snuggled further into the source and put her head back onto Adrian’s chest. The arm wrapped around her held her loosely but closely, and she decided she quite liked the sensation. She closed her eyes and relished in the moment, feeling safe. The steady rise and fall of his chest slowly lulled her back to sleep.

Her brain finally caught up and she realized that she was cuddled up with Adrian. Their limbs were a tangled mess. It made extricating herself without waking him too challenging of an affair, so she decided to remain as she was. Decision made, Reya calmed the growing butterflies in her stomach and returned to the simplicity of the moment she’d found herself in just before. For a while, she enjoyed laying there next to him and slowly drifted away back into oblivion.

Some time later Adrian stirred, causing Reya to wake back up. A deep hum of satisfaction resounded in his chest as his arm tightened around her.

“Good morning,” she said with a half smile, her eyes still closed. She wasn’t willing to move quite yet and snaked her arm around Adrian, making the message clear. She shifted her position and settled back in.

“Good morning,” Adrian said in a deep, low voice. He made no effort to move, granting Reya her silent request. “How are you feeling? Did you sleep well?”

Reya hummed an affirmative in response. “I’m feeling great,” she said in a sleepy voice.

“That’s good to hear. You were having a nightmare in the middle of the night and were thrashing. I’m glad you’re feeling alright after it.”

“Is that why we’re like this?”

“Yes,” Adrian replied simply. “I held you until you calmed down. I just never bothered stopping and fell back asleep.”

“I have no recollection of that happening, but thank you.” Reya fell silent and continued to doze. Adrian regarded her tenderly and continued his job as a pillow. He wasn’t certain why she wasn’t moving away, but certainly didn’t mind. It was a nice way to wake up, he decided.

Eventually, Reya’s stomach won against her desire to remain in bed. She stretched like a cat against Adrian and raised her head. “We should probably get up. What time is it?”

“Late,” Adrian replied, craning his head to check the time. “We slept in for once.”

“The medication did its job, then.”

“Surprisingly well, actually. I really needed that. I’m still pretty tired, but I’m feeling much better than I was yesterday.”

“I feel you on that one. Guess we’ll just have to sleep in a few more times,” she said with an impish grin. They untangled their legs and Reya reluctantly unwound her arm from Adrian’s well-muscled body. The pair separated and they both sat up. Adrian put his feet over the edge of the bed and onto the floor, remaining like that for several moments. Reya leaned over and gave him a hug from behind, resting her chin on his shoulder. “Thank you for indulging me,” she said before letting go and climbing out of the bed.

Adrian smiled at her. “Anytime. Let me know if ever you want to do that again.”

“I just might,” she hummed. Opening the door, they left the room and descended to steps, making their way into the kitchen. Rann and Tassie were seated at the table, eating an early lunch. There was extra on the counter.

“There they are,” Rann said with a cheeky grin. “Did you hold his hand?” she teased. Reya flushed slightly as she sat down, remembering Rann’s suggestion a while back when they were watching a movie together. Adrian didn’t understand the reference, so he wisely decided to remain silent.

“No,” Reya replied. Tassie offered them the leftover food and Adrian stood up and prepared two plates. He set one down in front of Reya and then took a seat next to her. “Where are the others?”

“The Elders have been in a meeting all morning, along with the General. Jyn and Eimir are sleeping. They took the night shift last night. Kell is off doing doctor things and Beor’s patrolling outside,” Tassie said. Finishing up her food, she went to wash her plate. “We’re technically here guarding you guys. Not that you really needed much guarding with how late you slept in. Normally you’re both up first.”

“We both slept really well last night, for a change,” Reya explained. She made no mention of Adrian using sleeping pills to the others, nor did she mention the apparent nightmare she had in the middle of the night. “We may have lazed around a bit before coming downstairs,” Reya said awkwardly.

Adrian grinned. “You lazed around, not me.”

Reya turned to face him. “It was a team effort. You certainly weren’t complaining.” She arched an eyebrow, shamelessly challenging his statement. Reya refused to take the blame when Adrian had made no effort to move either, more than content to let her lie atop him all she wanted.

“No complaints over here, only appreciation,” Adrian said, raising his hands in the air. Rann and Tassie exchanged a confused look at the banter. Rann shrugged and they let the matter drop. Whatever had occurred, it certainly seemed like the two were a little closer now than they’d been the day before. “The Elders are busy discussing my proposal, I take it?” Adrian asked Rann, changing the topic.

“I would assume so. I’m not privy to what their meeting is about, but I can’t imagine it being anything else. What you asked for is probably causing quite the stir right about now.”

Cirrus slammed her hand on the table. “For the last time, no!” she practically shouted. “I still refuse to believe that the man is an alien. It’s just too much of a coincidence. It’s impossible for something like this to occur naturally.”

“Cirrus, please, calm down,” Kaius said placatingly. Nessah watched the proceedings, wisely remaining silent unless called upon. It had been nearly four hours since the debate for Adrian’s citizenship had begun and they were running in circles. Tension was building and nerves were being tested. Cirrus had reached her tipping point.

“The man is obviously playing us for fools if he thinks we’re going to accept his outrageous claims. I say we throw him back in his cell until he cooperates with us, rather than entertain this ridiculous idea of making him a citizen.”

“It’s already been pointed out that his mental health deteriorated while we kept him locked up,” Orryn said. “The team’s doctor was going to ignore our orders anyway and let him out regardless. There’s no point in locking him back up.”

“And it’s preposterous to think that the doctor was talking about blatantly flouting our orders,” Cirrus threw back. “He should be punished.”

“You know that when it comes to medical aspects, the doctor’s words are law. There’s nothing even we could have done to overturn that desire.”

“Of course there is. Adrian isn’t even a part of the military. Military law doesn’t apply to him.”

“That’s enough,” Kaius interjected sternly. “This aspect of military law extends to all patients under our military’s doctors. In this case, the doctor had grounds to enforce his position since he formally took Adrian on as a patient.”

“Unbelievable.” Cirrus shook her head. “We know nothing about the man and we’re just letting him roam around freely? I still think he could have spent a few more days in his cell. We’re not asking for much, just a few more days.”

“The man was kept in a cell for who knows how long. He’s probably traumatized enough as it is already. There’s no need to make it worse,” Orryn said.

The debate continued on for another hour, until at last, Nessah was called upon to give her opinion. Thus far, she’d mostly remained silent throughout the proceedings, invited only because she was in possession of the video. Under normal circumstances, she would be called upon only for a brief amount of time, however, given the lack of optimal facilities, it was decided that she would stay for the entire meeting.

“The real question is how badly do we need to know the contents of the video?” Nessah asked. “I for one, think that we need to know. If we can make a special exception for granting citizenship, then the price for acquiring that knowledge is really quite cheap. Adrian’s not asking for anything outrageous when you think about it.”

“We’re not accepting his claims!” Cirrus responded hotly. Her stance on the matter had been made clear long ago and she defended it fiercely. There was no swaying her. She was the strongest proponent against granting Adrian citizenship and had managed to convince two others on the Tribunal to follow her lead.

“I’m not saying that we should. Rather, we could simply write in a special section pertaining to sentient beings being granted citizenship into our faction, rather than targeting a brand new species specifically.”

“Does that mean that we would allow a gru’ul to become part of our faction, then? Do you really think that we could live alongside those monstrosities?” Cirrus challenged. “They have great technology, yes. But they’re also hideous and completely alien to us. Not to mention the language barrier.”

“Then we could simply write in that the gru’ul are currently ineligible for citizenship until further notice. This would solve all of our problems. We could grant Adrian his wish without accepting his claims and get that video translated.”

Cirrus considered the proposition, but shook her head. “That’s not enough. We’re still giving him too much for a simple translation.”

“He can afford to ask that much since he’s literally the only person capable of translating it.”

“We don’t even know if he can yet. He even said as much himself.”

“We could show him the video first and see if he’s capable.”

“Then that would put him in the position of knowing information we can’t get without his help.” Cirrus stabbed her finger on the table. “We need something more from him for his services. What happens when we find another video or get back into contact with those same beings? Are we going to have to renegotiate for his aid?”

“We could make a counter-offer to him and make his citizenship conditional, pending on his continuous aid in the matter,” Orryn proposed. “That way he’d have to help us.”

“What does that make him then if he works for us? Military? If that’s the case, we can order him without issue.”

“I don’t think he’s going to accept being subject to our orders in that manner. His entire goal is to gain the protections governing civilian-military interactions. We could turn him into an independent contractor, allowing him to keep his civilian status but still work with us.”

“That puts us as equals in our working relationship,” Cirrus said, frustrated. “That’s giving him entirely too much power.”

“That’s his price. We can ether take it or leave it.”

“Isn’t there anything else we can offer him?”

“Like what? Money? That requires a bank account, which requires you to be a citizen. Land? Also requires you to be a citizen. Material goods? He doesn’t want them. Face it, Cirrus, this is the only thing we can give him that he wants.”

“Fine, let’s suppose we grant him status as an independent contractor. What do we give him in exchange for his ongoing services? Do we pay him?”

“We probably should, yes.”

“How much is translating these videos worth? We need to decide on a price tag before this becomes an issue.”

Once again the debate raged, attempting to put a price on purely hypothetical situations that were not guaranteed. Hours flew by, until Kaius called the end of the meeting, postponing the decision until the next day. It was well after dinner when the Elders and Nessah finally left the ship. They entered the house, famished. Reya, Adrian and Kell were watching a movie while Rann was busy storing the food.

Upon seeing them enter, she took the food back out of the fridge and prepared a plate for each of them. The trio was left alone to eat in peace, neither of them speaking as they ate. Once they were done, Adrian paused the movie and went over to go speak with them. He’d waited an entire day and wanted to know if his request had been granted.

“Have you come to a decision?” he asked, taking a seat at the table. Rann oversaw the exchange, acting as a guard this time. While she wasn’t worried that anything would happen, she still needed to keep up appearances, if only to please Cirrus and Jyn.

Orryn spoke up. “Not yet. Our debate has been postponed until tomorrow.”

“Does that mean you didn’t discuss it at all?” Adrian furrowed his brows. He’d been hoping that his request had at least been considered somewhat today.

“Of course we discussed it,” Cirrus exclaimed, aggravated. “We discussed it all day, like I said would happen.” Her prediction had turned out to be true. The debates had been long and intense, with no answer being found by the end of the first meeting. She fully expected another day, possibly two, before the Tribunal came to a conclusion. As it stood, they were split, with Kaius acting as the deciding vote. It was he who needed to be convinced on the correct course of action. Unless, by some miracle, another Elder could be swayed into changing camps. “And now we get to do it all again tomorrow.”

“Patience, Cirrus,” Orryn said. “I’m sure that tomorrow we’ll come to a decision on what to do.”

“We’d better,” Cirrus growled. When the facility had been discovered, Cirrus hadn’t expected their progress at uncovering its secrets to be quick. Never could she have imagined that it would be stalled until the whims of a random person were met. It irritated her greatly. Their faction could have advanced on the problem by now, yet here they were twiddling their thumbs.

Cirrus excused herself and stormed back into her room, retiring for the evening. She’d worked enough that day and was due a long break. Orryn smiled apologetically at her counterpart’s behaviour. “It’s been a long day,” she explained to the others. “What are you doing now?”

“I’m watching a movie with Reya and Kell. You’re more than welcome to join, we’ve only just started. I don’t mind going back to the beginning and watching it again. We’re really not that far into it.” Adrian replied. “You’re more than welcome, too,” he motioned towards Nessah, extending the invitation.

Orryn hummed thoughtfully. “I could use the break. I just might take you up on that offer. What about you, General?”

“Why not,” Nessah said. Together the group made their way back into the living room. Adrian explained the situation and everybody shifted seats to accommodate the new arrivals. Adrian occupied the corner of the three-seater sofa with Reya scooting in the middle next to him. Orryn took the remaining spot and Nessah sat in the recliner. Kell was left alone on the remaining couch.

The movie started anew and Reya draped her blanket over herself and Adrian, opting to share it. Neither of them noticed that Reya was sitting far closer to Adrian than she was to Orryn. The movie was a long one, well over three hours. The content was riveting to Adrian, but he felt exhaustion creep in the longer he watched. The constant worry over the result of his demand took its toll on him. A heaviness settled behind his eyes as he struggled to remain awake.

Though he had slept well the previous night, he was still sleep deprived. It would take many more days before he began to feel better. Next to him, Reya’s head bobbed dangerously. Her day caught up to her as she failed to remain awake, losing the battle Adrian fought desperately to win. Her head landed on Adrian’s shoulder as her body slumped towards him. She was fast asleep.

Adrian shifted his position to accommodate her so she could be more comfortable. This was the second time that day that he was being used as a pillow, he mused. He looked down at his arm between him and Reya, where it awkwardly dug into Reya’s side as she leaned on him. Adrian shifted, waking Reya from her light sleep. He put his arm around her and tilted his body so that her head rested on his chest.

“Is this better?” he asked nervously in a low voice, hoping he hadn’t overstepped his boundaries. Reya nodded and scooted closer, settling in before quickly passing back out in mere moments. Her breathing steadied, and Adrian knew that she was gone. With the only source of light in the living room being that from the holoscreen, the others didn’t notice what had just occurred.

The movie ended with both of them asleep, curled up against one another. Kell turned on the lights and Orryn noticed Adrian and Reya for the first time. “Oh my,” she said. She looked around towards Kell. “They look so peaceful. Are they an item?” she asked. If that was the case, then it would explain why Reya had opted to sleep alongside Adrian rather than her old teammate.

“They’re both utterly exhausted, that’s what they are,” Kell responded. “Quite frankly, I’m surprised they managed to stay awake this long. They’re both suffering from pretty severe sleep deprivation.” Kell looked at the pair pensively for a moment. “I’m not sure if they’re an item or not. If they are, they haven’t said anything,” he added.

“What’s got them so sleep deprived?” Orryn asked.

Kell simply shook his head. “I’m afraid I won’t say. I respect my patient confidentiality. If you’d like to know, either ask somebody else or better yet, ask them directly. I’m not sure how willing they’d be to talk about their problems to you, but it’s always worth a try.”

“Is it related to their time in captivity?” Nessah asked. Kell remained silent. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“How long have they been having problems sleeping?” Orryn inquired.

“A while,” Kell said without expanding on the subject. It was clear that this was as much as he was going to say on the matter. “I should probably wake them up and get them to bed. We can’t just leave them here on the couch all night long.” He moved towards Adrian and shook his shoulder.

Adrian’s eyes snapped open with a jolt, looking around wildly in a panic. It took him a moment to register where he was, visibly relaxing when he did. He blinked. “We fell asleep, didn’t we?” he asked. Kell nodded. “Is the movie over?”

“Yes.”

“Right then, I guess we should get to bed.” Gently, Adrian absentmindedly tucked a strand of hair out of Reya’s face and behind her ear. He shook her shoulder and woke her up. Blearily, she opened her eyes.

“What happened?” she asked while raising her head, out of sorts.

“The movie’s over. We fell asleep.”

“Again? I never seem to finish my movies.”

Adrian chuckled. “I don’t think it’s a problem. We should head off to bed,” he suggested. Reya nodded but made no effort to move. Slowly, her eyes closed again as she put her head back on Adrian’s chest. Not willing to let her fall asleep, Adrian stood up, grabbing her arm as he did so. “Come on, up we go.” He took the blanket off of Reya and hauled her to her feet.

She stood up with a wobble and clung to Adrian’s shoulder to stop herself from tripping. Adrian took a hold of her hand and guided her towards the steps. Looking back over his shoulder, he bid everyone a goodnight and disappeared with Reya in tow. Orryn regarded Adrian carefully throughout the entire affair.

Once upstairs, Reya was slightly more awake and able to somewhat function on her own. Adrian left to go get changed, Reya not even noticing he was gone. She shrugged off her clothes, leaving them on the floor and put on her pajamas. Adrian returned and they climbed into bed together. They both took their sleeping medication and Adrian turned off the light, pulling the covers over both of them.

Reya wasted no time and rolled over onto him, determined to get her source of warmth and comfort back. She sidled up to him and made herself at home. Adrian took the move in stride and wrapped his arms comfortably around her. Together, the pair settled in for the night, unwilling to move apart.