Xaleyp didn’t know how to feel. Part of him was happy she was alive, happy that the Arcadians didn’t kill her, then another part of him was furious that the entire time they knew each other, she was lying to his face, that the first thing she said to him was a lie. She was mysterious after all, but for entirely different reasons than he originally thought.

Mian sat in the chair across from Xaleyp. The metal scraped as she scooted closer to the table. The Director stayed standing by the door for a moment, looking from each of them to try to gauge a reaction.

“Well, I think you two have a lot to talk about. I’ll leave you alone.”

The door hissed shut behind him, leaving the pair of them alone in the silence. Xaleyp looked down at his lap. He couldn’t look her in the eye. Not after she spent so long lying to him. Betraying him. Acting like he should trust her just to turn around and stab him in the back.

“Xaleyp…” she started but stopped just as quickly. Her mouth moved as if she were trying to say something, but no words came out.

“Why?” He found the one word so hard to say.

“It’s complicated. You wouldn’t understand.”

“I’m tired of you saying that.” His voice was quiet, but he put every ounce of anger he had into it. “I ask you a question, and I’m just told that I won’t understand, or that I just need to trust you, then I’m expected to turn right around and tell you everything I know, but the whole time, you’re just there to spy on me. How is that fair? Where’s the trust in that?”

“I know, you’re right.” Her face turned red. She fiddled with her fingers on the table. Xaleyp wanted to reach out and grab her hand but resisted the urge. “They made me lie to you, and trick you, and hurt you. I knew it was wrong, but I did it anyway.”

“That still doesn’t answer the why.”

She looked around the room. Satisfied they were alone, she leaned in close.

“They took my mom and dad,” she whispered. A look of genuine terror was plastered on her face, and she subtly looked around the room, making sure no one was listening. “They said if I don’t do what they say, they’ll kill them. I can’t let that happen.”

“Who even are they? How did they find you?” Xaleyp stopped for a moment and recalled her hesitation when he asked where she was from. “Are you even from Terra like you told me, or was that a lie too?”

“No, that was part of my cover.” Her face turned a deep shade of scarlet from her nose to her ears. “I’m from Siatia. They’re the Celestial Order, some secret organization within the Siatian government. I only know what they’ve told me, which isn’t much. They may not trust me.”

“Them not trusting you? Color me surprised.”

“Xaleyp, I’m sorry, okay?” She rose her own voice now, her eyes pleading with him and tears glistening on her lashes. “It was a mistake to lie to you and take your trust in me for granted. They told me not to get attached to you, but I did. Every time I did what they told me to do, I was second guessing myself, trying to decide if then was the time to tell you the truth, but the picture of my family kept coming to my mind, and I just couldn’t do it.”

“How do I even know that’s the truth? How can I trust anything that you tell me when you’ve been lying to me for a month, making me believe you’re someone you’re not?” Xaleyp was fighting to keep his own voice quiet and steady but found it increasing difficult as more information was revealed. She didn’t answer, still fidgeting with her fingers on the table. “How did you even get out of ArcDefense? The last time I saw you, we both were stunned by those guards.”

“I radioed in for help.” She tapped her CAM with a shaking finger. “The Order was able to extract me. They would’ve taken you too, but the Arcadians had you too heavily guarded. They couldn’t take you at the same time, which is why they had to do the whole prisoner exchange, which I think is a load of bullshit myself.”

“What about all that hacking you did?” Xaleyp knew her skill sounded too good in the moment, but he let it go at the time. It all made so much more sense now. “Did ‘the Order’ do that for you too?”

“Yes.” She picked at her fingernails, not wanting to look him. “I always maintained contact with the Director, and he got me anything I needed to get the job done. That’s why I was placed in the same dorm as you, how I got the room list, how I got us into the sewers. They even told me about Maxwell when I came out of the dormitory that day so I could tell you about him, just in case the Emperor didn’t. Everything I did was with their help. All so I could make the stars magically align to getting you here.”

“Why didn’t you just tell me from the start? It would’ve been so much easier for both of us.”

“I don’t know. Part of me wanted to, especially after we got to Arcadia. I was more worried about my family. That day you fought Maxwell and I met you at the lift, I almost told you. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.” She looked him in the eye and blinked, letting the tears that built up flow down her cheeks. “I really am sorry for betraying you. I can see now why they told me not to get attached, it’s so much harder, so much more complicated, when you’re spying on someone you grow to like.”

There was a chime at the door, and it opened. The Director walked in, sitting sideways on the table with his back towards Mian. He stared directly at Xaleyp.

“Are you happy? Satisfied with the answers she gave you?”

“No.” Xaleyp shook his head and avoiding looking at her. “I’m not. I don’t think I’ll ever be satisfied.”

“Well, you’re just going to have to get over it.” The man put a datapad on the table and slid it towards Xaleyp. “Your first mission will be with her. It’s a simple mission. You’ll be fully debriefed at Siatia, but the gist is that you’re going to the moon of Monimar at Stariek and looking for General Grimaldus. Capture or kill mission, your choice.”

“What?” Xaleyp wasn’t sure that he heard the Director correctly. Going to Stariek to find the man who killed Lina? The more he thought about it, the more his heart sank. “With Mian? I don’t think I can trust her for awhile.”

“You’re going to have to get over it. She played a role just like you will be. Either trust her or you’ll both die and Lina’s killer will go free. I trust that you don’t want that to happen.”

Xaleyp was unconvinced. He would be stronger alone or with a team that he could trust, and Mian clearly demonstrated how much he could trust her. After several seconds of agonizing silence, the Director turned to Mian.

“Mian, please leave the room. I need to speak with Xaleyp alone.”

She stood and nodded, quietly walking to the door without looking back at either of them. When the door closed again, the Director turned back to Xaleyp.

“Look, I understand exactly how you’re feeling. You’re hurt, you’re betrayed, and you don’t know what’s real or not anymore.” He held up his hand to stop Xaleyp from interrupting then pointed at the datapad. “Regardless of the job we had Mian do, this is real, where this man is and what he’s doing and what he’s done. We need your help to take him down and make sure that he can’t kill or hurt anyone else again. You deserve that revenge that you’ve been looking for, that revenge for Lina.”

“I want revenge.” Xaleyp felt his voice rise and fill the room. “I want that bastard to suffer the way I have, and make him regret the day he ever wanted to attack Stariek, but there’s no way I’m doing it with someone I have to wonder if they’re going to stab me in the back or not.”

“You’re worried Mian is going to stab you in the back then? You’re afraid that you can’t trust her because of what she’s said and done on our behalf without you knowing?” The Director stood and moved to the chair, sitting down and folding his hands on the tabletop. “I can say for a fact that the girl you met on Vertyn is exactly the person she is, regardless of what lies she had to tell on our behalf. Well, let’s read some of the messages she sent me while she was undercover then. Shall we start from the beginning? Be warned, though: Sometimes, standing in the light is more painful than living in darkness.”

Xaleyp fidgeted nervously in his seat, not knowing what was going to be coming. The Director cleared his throat and spoke as if reading off an invisible teleprompter.

“’Sir, I made first contact with Xaleyp Vah’Aris. It went exactly like you said. I went into the dorm, pretended to be upset, and he approached me and tried to make me feel better. I kind of liked the way he talked to me, like he actually cared about me.’ That’s the first time I had to remind her to not get too close to you, you see. I could tell just by her voice when she described the interaction to me. I knew her psyche profile like the back of my hand, you see, and I wanted to nip that right in the bud to prevent it from growing into… well, what it has grown into. Seems like you made a good first impression though, so that was nice. Let’s read another, shall we?

“’Xaleyp was just attacked by Maxwell in the Emperor’s chambers. He’s a bloody mess, beat almost to a pulp. I just wanted to update you that I almost told him. Just seeing him like that, I felt so bad, and I wanted to tell him the truth. He deserves that much at least. When are you going to allow me to tell him everything?’ I think that’s the second time I told her not to get too attached and to remember her mission and that we would inform her if there is any need to deviate from the plan. Need I go on?”

Xaleyp slowly shook his head. It was strange hearing it from her point of view, and he actually felt remorseful about the way he treated her just a few short minutes ago. A knot formed in his chest and squeezed his insides as he looked at the table, avoiding the Director’s penetrating gaze.

“Well, now that we have all that settled, I suggest you put the past in the past and look to the future. A future that will allow you to protect those you care about and establish the sense of justice in the galaxy that has been lacking for some time now. A future with the Celestial Order.”