INSOMNIA

Summary: She had no need for sleep.

Part 1

In the depths of space, there was no discerning between night and day. Depending on how you looked at it, it was either always night, always day, or always both. Needless to say, this set some interesting regulations for sleep.

Somewhere along the way of them becoming a team, it was decided that everyone would sleep after missions. This was one of the more logical deductions, seeing as the missions were quite draining. The decision was unspoken, of course, because that was the only way things seemed to get done neatly on the Interceptor.

Razer had awoken earlier than he was used to, but opted not to go back to sleep. Instead, he prepared for the day like he always did before exiting his quarters.

Due to the Interceptor's small size, the living quarters were located in the area right outside of the main control room. The doors opened automatically. As he stepped inside, he was greeted by a voice.

"Hello, Razer."

Aya, in her humanoid robotic body, sat at one of the control panels at the very front of the room. There was a brief moment of shock, a moment in which Razer questioned why she was still working. He voiced this.

"You're… still working?"

"Of course," Aya said, "As a nav-com, I must perform routine maintenance on the Interceptor to assure that there is minimum margin for failures while the Interceptor operates. In addition, as an Artificial Intelligence, I have no need for sleep."

It set Razer on edge when she spoke like this. In these sort of moments, he was reminded of what she was. While working alongside Aya and the other Green Lanterns, he tended to forget that she was, in fact, a robot.

"And," Aya continued, "May I ask what has roused you prematurely from your sleep cycle?"

"Nothing," Razer said, taking a seat by another control panel. For a while, there was nothing except for the occasional ding of the controls to fill the silence. Then; "Would you like me to help you?"

"Your assistance is unnecessary. I am capable of completing all necessary functions to keep the Interceptor in working condition." There was a pause in which Razer looked down at his knees, silently wishing he hadn't brought it up. "However…" Aya spoke again, "Your help would be appreciated."

Razer nodded, and Aya instructed him as to what actions were to be performed. The two worked in tandem, checking all parts of the ship to make sure that everything was in working order. A short while later, the checks were completed.

"So… what now?" Razer asked.

"My scanners indicate that Green Lanterns Hal and Kilowog will not wake from their sleep cycles for some time. Estimating three hours, at least."

Razer mulled this over. He turned to the window, leaning back in his chair and wondering why he didn't go back to sleep.

"There is something else," Aya said. "A foreign energy signature, originating from sixteen point one seven miles that way," she pointed.

"What sort of foreign energy signature?" Razer asked, sitting upright.

"An SOS beacon. It would seem that there is someone in need of assistance."

Razer already knew what she was planning. "You think we should check it out."

"Yes. That is what Green Lanterns do."

Razer stood. "Then we should wake the others. Unless," he paused, "You think it is something that we can take care of alone?"

"The beacon is small, indicating that the ship it is coming from is also small. I do not think that the others' assistance will be necessary."

Five hours later, Razer and Aya made their way back to the Interceptor. Razer was dreading the welcome party that would await them. Hal and Kilowog would undoubtedly be awake, and decidedly unhappy with the absence of the two other crew members. Quite honestly, the small ship had been more trouble than Razer had anticipated. A hostile race of centipede-like aliens had overrun the inhabitants onboard, and they didn't take well to Aya and Razer's interference in their plans.

The mission was a success, at least. The bugs were driven out of the ship, and Aya rebooted the engines so that the inhabitants could continue on their journey. Razer hoped that that news would do some to lessen Hal's lecture.

Hal and Kilowog were waiting for the two in the bay of the ship. As soon as the door shut, he let loose.

"Where have you been? It's been two hours!"

Razer opened his mouth to explain, but Aya beat him to it.

"My apologies, Green Lantern Hal. I had not expected the mission to take so long."

"Mission?" Hal said, "What mission?"

"There was a distress beacon coming from a ship that had been ambushed. We went to investigate."

"You shouldn't have done that. You should have woken us up, and then we would have all gone."

"Negative," Aya countered, "Your assistance was not necessary. I saw no need to awaken you so prematurely from your sleep cycles."

"You woke Razer," Hal said.

"I was already awake," Razer said, the first words he'd managed to put in the whole conversation.

"Razer's help was sufficient to completing the mission." Aya finished.

"Wait, wait, wait." Kilowog said. "Back up. What do you mean, 'so prematurely'? How long were you guys gone?"

"We departed the Interceptor five hours ago."

"Five hours?" Kilowog exclaimed disbelievingly, "When do you sleep?"

A/N: This is just to ease me back into writing, because I've taken such a long break. Chapter 2 will be up soon.