Chapter Text
Krennic knew that Scarif had been destroyed.
He hadn’t expected to be rescued before the explosion, still dressed in his Imperial Uniform (san communications and weapons), finding himself locked up in a rebel cell with nothing but the four walls to stare out.
He knew he was probably being monitored and was not about to embarrass himself by succumbing to the crushing sense of loneliness.
He was surprised when Galen Erso was his first visitor.
One, because he was sure that Galen had been killed on Eadu.
Two, because he was certain that he was the last person Galen would ever want to see…. Unless he was here to fire the killing shot.
“Or- Krennic.” Galen’s voice wasn’t quite neutral, containing that same note of sadness that had been present since their reunion, “The Resistance would like to give you an offer.”
“No.”
“You haven’t even heard it yet.”
Krennic straightened up, looking Galen right in the eyes, “I don’t want to.”
“… You wish to be left alone?”
“I wish to be put out of my misery!” Krennic snapped, one hand slowly moving into his pocket, relieved to find a familiar ring still in there.
It wasn’t a communications device.
It wasn’t a weapon.
But it was a source of comfort to him.
Galen’s eyes were instantly drawn to the motion, that sorrowful look coming back.
“Is that a ring?” He asked, words barely audible in the cell.
Krennic tensed up.
“They allowed you to keep the ring?” Galen almost seemed to be talking to himself, “Why?”
“Keep it?” The choice of words was odd, as he carefully pulling the ring out of his pocket, eyes automatically falling to those words etched into the silver band.
‘I Am Yours And You Are Mine.’
“You know who gave this to me.” Krennic stated matter-of-factly, “Don’t you.”
Silence.
Krennic looked up to see Galen’s eyes fixed on the ring, his face a still, emotionless mask. When he finally responded, he didn’t look at Krennic. “I don’t know… I’m sorry.”
And then he was gone, the cell door closing behind him.
Somehow, Krennic couldn’t help but feel like it was his fault.
“Galen?!” He called out, “Galen!”
……………………………………………………………………………..
His next visitor was the Erso girl.
It was odd.
His memories of her were a little fuzzy, much like they were on Galen. Much like Galen, she was giving him an odd look.
“What?!” Krennic snapped, “Come to gloat?”
“… I’ve come to ask you about the ring?”
Krennic glanced around the room, glaring at the cameras that he was sure were there. Wearily, he pulled the ring from his pocket and simply held it up for her to see. “Look, don’t touch.” He ordered, sneering as she rolled her eyes.
It was almost a fond look, as she moved closer, eyes scanning over the inscription.
“I am yours and you are mine.” She read out loud, looking away almost immediately. “It’s just as I remember.”
“What are you talking about?!”
The Erso girl glanced over at him, mouth opening and closing uselessly for a few moments before she shook her head. “You weren’t always with the Empire.” Was the last thing that she said, before she beat a hasty retreat, leaving Krennic behind.
“She’s wrong.” He whispered to himself, glancing down at the ring.
Why would she say that?
Why would a ring make her say that?
Why wouldn’t Galen have mentioned that if it were true?
Gently, he placed it on his left ring finger where it fit perfectly, admiring it for a moment, before quickly pulling it off and shoving it back into his pocket.
Hopefully the Resistance hadn’t seen that moment of weakness.
He spent the next few minutes in silence, before shooting to his feet and kicking at the walls.
“GALEN! GALEN!”
……………………………………………………..
It took almost an hour before Galen reappeared, and it was clear that the other man had been crying.
“Your daughter knows about my ring.” Krennic greeted, not bothering with any greetings, “Why? How?”
Galen stared at him for a few moments, before he sighed wearily and leant against the wall. “You’re not an Empire supporter. Up until over ten years ago… we were married.”
And just like that, the life that Krennic thought he knew was over.
“You had a wife!” He hissed, “I shot and killed her! She was always trying to get you to leave, she was always standing in our way!”
“No.” Galen gently shook his head, “You were my husband. You were the one who stood with me when everyone was tricking me about my research. You were the one who ran away with me… and you were the one who was shot when the Empire returned for us.” He took a deep shuddering breath, “I thought you’d died… and then you appeared in my lab, acting like-like a good Empire stooge.”
Krennic was starting to feel a little sick.
“I said things, trying to trigger your memory. I hoped that you seeing Jyn might trigger them, but… nothing happened.”
“You’re lying.” Krennic whispered, “You have to be.”
Galen just looked a little sad, “I’m not… and I think you know that.”
For a moment, the pair just stared at each other, before Krennic straightened up, “Tell me something about myself then.” He growled, “Something only I or my… husband would know.”
“We got married on Naboo.” Galen began, “You weren’t born there, but compared to the heavily industrialised nature of Lexrul, where you were born, you thought the planet was paradise. So, you chose there instead.”
Krennic did prefer Naboo over Lexrul… but so did a lot of people.
“You prefer the rain over the sun, although you’ve never been entirely sure why.”
“I- “
“Your favourite colour is blue.” Galen’s face turned a little soft here, “You were wearing blue on our wedding day.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a miniature holo-surveillance device, pressing at a button as a photo popped up.
It was definitely him and Galen, both of them wearing near-matching suits, arms around each other…. And Galen was staring at him like he was 100% in love.
They were both much younger.
“How… long have we been married for?” Krennic whispered, still not fully believing what he was seeing.
This could all be clever photographic manipulations.
“Nearly thirty years.”
This was all too much.
They sat in silence for a bit, while Krennic tried to process it all. His eyes were fixed on that photo… it somehow hurt to see this, despite the fact that he still didn’t believe any of it was real.
Despite the fact that he could remember none of it.
“Tell me more.” He requested quietly.
“… What do you want to know?”
Krennic shrugged, “Anything… what am I like, normally? If we really were together.”
Galen thought for a moment, studying Krennic carefully. “You’re… charming when you want to be.” He began, “You didn’t deal with fools lightly. You were organised and somehow disorganised at the same time. Our house sometimes looked like it had been hit by a bomb, but you never missed any meetings or appointments.” Galen chuckled, “You snore, and you can’t cook, but you sang whenever you tried… Jyn got that from you. The poor girl can’t sing a word in tune.”
“… What about you.” Krennic whispered, “Because I am quickly learning that the man I thought I knew, was wearing a mask around me.”
“… I never wore a mask around you.”
The quiet words were enough to make Krennic’s heart flutter just a little.
…………………………………………………………………
“Maybe true love’s kiss will do it?”
Galen shot a quick glare over at his daughter, who actually looked very serious.
“This… must all be very difficult for him.” Galen sighed, “Not only has he learnt that he’s married with a daughter, but that the Imperial life that he knew was all a lie. We can’t push him too much.”
“You could at least suggest it. He might agree to try it.”
“It’s not that easy Jyn… I wish it were, but it’s not.”
“What if it is that easy?!” She exclaimed, “Maybe it is that easy, but you’re too scared!” She straightened up, “So, I’ll ask him.”
He was blocking her path before he even realised that he’d even moved, “You’re not going to say a word to him.” He growled sternly, “We are not going to over-whelm him or drive him into a corner where he thinks that he doesn’t have a choice.”
Jyn automatically found herself nodding in agreement, waiting until he father turned away, before allowing herself to breathe again.
She felt like she was seven again, and he wasn’t mad at her… just disappointed.
She hated that feeling.
…………………………………………………….
In the end, it was a random head injury that had done the trick.
Whilst being escorted to the refreshers, his guard had taken offence to his very presence and had slammed him against the wall… headfirst, making everything go black as he slid down to the floor, only vaguely hearing angry voices heading towards them.
It was like hitting the re-set button.
The memories came rushing back to Orson in rocket speed. All his life, the work in the Republic, the birth of Jyn, the disgust at the Empire and the escape… and then the pain of being re-conditioned.
It was all there in a split second, making him feel like he’d been shot again.
For a moment, he could do nothing more than to just stare blankly into the distance, vaguely hearing someone calling out his name.
“Are you okay?” Jyn knelt in front of him, and Orson felt like he was going to cry.
His little girl.
How much she’d grown.
“Jyn.” He whispered.
She must have seen something in his eyes because the look on her face was indescribable. It was a mixture of happiness and relief.
“Dad.” She whispered back, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face into the crook of his neck in a desperate hug that Orson couldn’t help but return.
“Jyn, is everything okay?” He then heard a familiar voice ask, prompting him to look up and see Galen standing there, a stunned look on his face.
Galen.
The man who hadn’t given up on him, despite everything he’d done.
“Galen.” He whispered, and whatever Jyn saw, Galen must have seen as well as he fell to his knees beside the pair, pulling them into his arms as he muttered frantic thanks in his native language. When his husband (and what an odd thought to think after all this time) pulled away, Orson couldn’t help but press their lips together in a gentle, chaste kiss, chuckling when he heard Jyn playfully groan beside him.
“I’ve missed you.” Galen said quietly.
“I’ve missed you too.”