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Hask grumbled as he stalked down the hallway with his head down, ignoring the stares and gossip.
I don’t know who I offended to deserve this, he thought. Inspection. What a waste of my time!
He at least pretended to look through his datapad at all the information.
Stormtroopers saluted as the door between them slid open, revealing the shuttle that would transfer him to the academy on Naboo.
It’s not even Coruscant. How can it be that good?
He straightened his uniform and stepped towards the headmaster.
“Commander! Welcome to Naboo,” saluted Headmaster Halloe.
“Great to be here,” Hask grumbled.
The cadets were all lined up, the junior officers at the front.
Hask walked down the lines, checking the uniforms, hair, everything that could possibly be out of place, occasionally reaching out to make corrections or pointing things out.
In front of the last platoon, Hask was glad to nearly be done with the whole thing. He looked up at the officer’s blue eyes and dark hair and-
The memory faded as quickly as it appeared, beautiful as a flower but as sharp as a thorn. Though he couldn’t remember why it hurt so much, the rapidly disappearing image of a woman’s gentle smile left him feeling uncomfortably vulnerable. What was that? He wondered, finding more questions than answers. He shook it off and went back to the inspection, but each time he passed that officer, something in him made him stop, seeming to shout for his attention.
A different memory, or more accurately, a different part of the same memory, surfaced with every glance. Tea. Cherry blossoms. Laughter. Bright sunshine and a cold breeze. Her hand touching mine. They swirled together, simultaneously clarifying and blurring the picture in his head. Finally they settled to form a painted picture of an afternoon in a park, just him walking along a path of fallen petals holding a woman’s hand tightly, almost as though he was afraid if he let go she’d vanish. He couldn’t recall her face, but the way she made him feel… That could never leave him.
Headmaster Halloe called out to him, bringing him back to the present situation. “Is something wrong, Commander? Are these officers in need of more training?”
Hask shook his head. “No, I believe they’ll do just fine. Bring me their files, I want to look over them again in my office.” He faced the line of officers one more time, wanting to appear like he was a professional at his job instead of a man desperately grasping at the broken memories of the past. The blue-eyed boy blinked up at him, standing so still he could have been mistaken for a statue, sending yet another detail into the mental picture.
“You,” Hask said, finally speaking directly to him, “Where are you from?”
“Kaiyo, sir!” He wasn’t exactly yelling, but his answer was much louder than it needed to be. He corrected his volume and continued, “In the Outer Rim, it’s far from here, so there’s not a lot of cadets that come all the way to Naboo. It’s just me and one other today, sir.”
Kaiyo… Was that where…? “Your dedication to making the trip out here is noted. Very well, you’re dismissed. I’ll send out a full report in detail to the Headmaster shortly explaining my opinion of the inspection. If your name has been called out in the report, I’ll set a time for a meeting with you to discuss your future in the First Order.” A chorus of “Yes, sir!” and a line of perfect salutes, then Hask was left alone with his thoughts once more as he headed back to the shuttle.
Once he was back in his office, he took out a datapad, scanning the files one by one until he found the name he was looking for. “Birth planet: Kaiyo,” he read aloud, checking for whatever new information he could find, “Only child of a single mother, no father listed… No record of a sponsor either.” He pondered if doing a quick search on the name in the file was an abuse of power, but he just wanted answers. If I knew her, if what I think really did happen, then this is simply getting back in touch. He followed the link back to another, rather impressive, Imperial file showing the promising career of a hard-working woman that was suddenly cut off. A note at the end said they were still keeping tabs on her, although she no longer worked for the Empire or the First Order, stating she was a person of “notable interest” to a high-ranking officer.
With no answers, Hask frowned as he set the datapad back down. He had to interview certain officers later, anyhow. He would make sure the one with the ice-blue eyes was part of it.
“Next,” Hask yawned after finishing the most recent interview. He would need some caf soon if he needed to stay up any longer.
He was suddenly fully awake when the cadet entered the room. A Tylo Katsuya if he remembered from the record.
Katsuya-
Notable interest? I’ve never heard of any significant Imperial by that name. I wish her specialty was mentioned, then maybe I could narrow it down-
“Commander!” The boy saluted, still with that same charm from earlier. Now, without anyone else to interfere, Hask could hear the slight accent, like he couldn’t pronounce certain letters.
He also noted how, unlike every other cadet, this one didn’t have the nervous look on his face. He looked excited.
The curiosity was too much. Hask didn’t ask any of the customary questions about strategy or whatnot. No, he needed to know more about why this kid prompted hidden memories.
“I looked at your file,” Hask told him, pacing to the window to get away from the boy’s stare.
“I figured you would, sir.”
You figured?
Hask shut his eyes as another faint instinct, of that specific, almost teasing way of talking-
“Your age,” he said instead. “Fourteen standard years. That’s young, for an officer.”
“I promised my mother I would work hard. And I have.”
“Yes, you have. Your mother must be very proud.”
The boy’s smile wavered just a bit.
“You miss her.” It wasn’t a question.
“Yes, sir.”
“The First Order usually doesn’t care for such weaknesses.”
“She’s alone, and I worry.” The cadet said as if that could justify anything. “No parents. No partner, no other sons or daughters.”
“And the First Order decides to label her as special interest,” Hask said. “Why?”
“I- don’t know, sir.”
“What’s your name?” Hask said before the “sir” was out of his mouth.
“Tylo,” said the boy.
Tylo.
Tylo, the soft woman’s voice said. Hask saw the silhouettes of two figures on a beach.
“Father’s name?”
“I don’t know, mama said he was an officer but the last she heard, he was headed for the Death Star when it was destroyed.”
“To Endor?”
“To Yavin,” Tylo corrected.
Yavin.
The Death Star.
That day-
Like it was in the background, a baby cried in the back of Hask’s mind.
“Perhaps I knew him, then,” Hask decided, sitting back down at his desk. “You may go, Cadet.”
The boy didn’t salute on his way out, but Hask was already looking back down, wondering which boring teenager he would have to interview next, everything would be so dull as he had Tylo to consider more than anything.
“Sir?”
“What is it?” He responded, without looking up. He wanted to be annoyed, but something prevented it.
“My mother’s name is Isolde. I don’t know if that helps your search.”
Hask froze, but when he finally looked up, Tylo was gone. A new cadet had entered.
“Sir-”
“That’s enough for today, I’ll continue with you tomorrow,” Hask ordered, brushing by the startled girl and wondering if looking after Tylo would be too obvious.
“Commander, is everything alright?” Asked Headmaster Halloe outside the door.
“I’m feeling unwell,” Hask lied and hurried to his rooms.
He was only half-lying. While it wasn’t a physical sickness, memories were plaguing him, voices and flashes of images that he couldn’t place. Why can’t I remember? Who were you? What were you to me? Am I his…? Of course not, I would never break regulations. Families are forbidden.
But the way she looked at me…
He sat at his desk, head in his hands. Mentally cursing himself, he stared at the picture on the datapad. The woman on the screen was truly beautiful, her long dark hair kept neatly in a bun, and though she was wearing an Imperial uniform designed to keep everyone nearly identical, she made it her own with small accessories. Her face only seemed to tease him, as though she held on to a secret he was once part of but has since been lost to time. “Gideon,” she seemed to say, though the holo remained still as ever, “You know me. You loved me once. You still do. Find me.”
Find her…How?
I don’t even remember your name.
Hask couldn’t imagine forgetting anyone that important, but on the other hand- what could have made him forget?
I need to see that kid again, he decided. If he is… mine. I need to keep him close to me.
And so, he put in the call.
Hask looked up when the cadet entered again, both of them were in casual uniform and it was somewhat refreshing.
“Commander,” said Tylo, saluting half-heartedly.
“Sit,” Hask said, in an invitation, not an order. Nevertheless, Tylo looked a bit confused at the table with two sets of food on it.
“Have you already eaten?”
“No, sir,” Tylo said, and finally pulled out the chair and sat.
“I found your mother,” Hask said. “She still lives on Kaiyo. Will you visit her?”
“They don’t allow us to,” Tylo said. “Once I get to a higher rank, maybe.”
“Nonsense, I’ll write you a pass,” Hask watched Tylo take a bite of food and cringe.
“Is it not good?”
“No, sir, it’s just rich. I’m not used to it. Usually they just give us ration cubes.”
“You’re too small, anyway,” Hask frowned. “I saw your file.”
“Everyone says that about me, it’s nothing new,” Tylo said with a small smile on his face. “Mama says it just means I’m strong like my father. But she also worries, too.”
“Your mother,” Hask repeated, “Isolde.”
There was an awkward silence for a few moments as they each ate a few bites. “Did she tell you more than that about him?”
“She told me lots of stories,” Tylo said. “And I know she has a holo of him, but I’m not allowed to see it until I graduate, for some reason. She said it would keep me safe.”
Hask cleared his throat. “It must mean that she knows who’s “notably interested” in her.”
“It’s more than that,” Tylo insisted. “I think he really loved her.”
I did.
Thank the force Hask didn’t say that aloud. It could have gotten him in lots of trouble.
“And you have no memories of your father, either?” Hask pushed.
Tylo tilted his head, “why are you so concerned with my father?”
“Perhaps I should like to help you find him.”
“Why? He’d be punished. Families aren’t allowed.”
“That was the old rule. And besides, he’s an officer by now, I’m sure.”
The boy huffed and laid back in his chair. “Well, I doubt you’ve heard your fellow officers’ singing voices.”
“Come again?”
“Their singing voices. My earliest memory of my father is him singing to me while I went to sleep. I still hear it sometimes.”
Singing.
The memory hit Hask like a speeder going 70 kilometers an hour. A baby, so small and fragile, and far too innocent for the galaxy they lived in, tucked in his arms, gazing softly up at him until the gently whispered melodies lulled him to sleep.
Without thinking, Hask began to hum. He hadn’t realized it was audible until Tylo looked back at him-
-and joined in.
A simple and wordless tune, which to anyone else would have no significance, but to them, it meant more than the entire universe.
“What are you doing here,” Hask breathed. “It’s too dangerous!”
“Mama said I would find you-“
“I’m sending you back to her right now.”
Tylo set his mouth. “Only if you come with me.”
"Tylo," he started, finally using the boy- his son’s- name, "I can't just leave. It's not that simple. One missing cadet can be looked over, but people would notice my absence."
Tylo was certainly quick at changing plans to account for new obstacles. "So say you have to take me home for whatever reason. They'd allow a personal escort, especially since I don't have a pilot's license yet. Someone's gotta fly me there, why not you? It can even be a "training lesson" on hyperspace!"
"You’re not going to let this go unless I accompany you, are you?"
Realizing he'd won the debate, Tylo grinned and saluted again, this time just as a child playing with his father instead of a cadet. "Absolutely not, sir!"
“Now I know you take after your mom, begging me like that,” Hask grumbled. “I gotta think of something, and in the meantime, I’m going to make you my aide. You’ll use your mother’s last name.”
“Does that mean I’ll stick by you all the time?!” Tylo was practically bouncing up and down.
“As long as you stay well-behaved.”
“Oh, I will!”
Hask smiled to himself as he put in the orders for the boy’s transfer. Headmaster Halloe was extremely flustered by the change but had to relent.
“We’ll get you a new uniform momentarily. You have to look the part-“ Hask muttered to himself, switching to a new form. “Come with me.”
Tylo had to jog to keep up with his father’s long strides.
The next day, Hask put in a last-minute leave that he used to take Tylo back to Kaiyo, as promised. While Tylo was excited, rambling about everything they would encounter, Hask was a bit more reserved. What would Isolde think of him now? Would she still think of him as the man she loved, or would she think he left her behind for his work? Would she still look at him the way she used to, with more love and kindness than he deserved?
Does she still love me?
Like I love her?
Trying to get his spiraling thoughts back on track, he asked Tylo what his favorite thing about his homeworld was, determined to know as much as he could about the planet and family he left behind. His little boy lit up at the question and went off on a tangent about cherry blossom trees and his mother's dumpling recipe. "Oh, we have to go to the park! You used to take us there all the time when I was a baby. Mama told me that one time we were walking by the tree and a flower fell right on my face and it made me sneeze for like two whole minutes…" He continued his story, and several others, for the remainder of the trip, and Gideon listened to every word with a smile.
“Mama will be mad that I didn’t tell her we were coming. She’ll think the house is too dirty or her meal is too simple-“
She hasn’t changed, then. Hask thought, still smiling. He hadn’t stopped smiling since their ship took off.
“I’m sure it will be okay.”
“I hope she’ll make dumplings,” Tylo continued, jumping up before the ship touched the ground. “Now, you can’t meet her looking like that, we need to find you something more casual.”
“Dumplings were my favorite, too.”
Tylo suddenly slipped his small hand into Hask’s, just a small boy who wanted his dad. Tylo wasn’t much taller than Hask’s waist.
“Everyone says Commander Hask is mean,” Tylo said, seriously. “I don’t know where they got that from.”
“Well, let’s just say they had a reason,” Gideon replied. “You don’t need to know the details.” He thought back to his early days as a commander and his ruthlessness toward his subordinates, comparing the man he used to be to the one he was at the moment. I think this Commander Hask is better, he thought with a faint smile.
Tylo went oddly quiet for a second, but before Gideon could ask what was on his mind, he changed the subject by pointing out his favorite clothing store. "Let’s go pick out something nice!" He all but dragged his father inside, making a beeline for the clothes in his size as though he knew the layout of the building by heart (which, Gideon figured, he most likely did). "Okay, so someone with your skin tone would look best in these shades here," he explained expertly. Tylo picked out a few outfits from the rack and handed them to Gideon for inspection. "What do you think of these?"
“I don’t know anything about clothes, you decide.”
“Well, this shirt brings out your eyes- oh! But blue is mama’s favorite color, so we have to go with that!”
He let Tylo pick out three outfits and one for himself before finally pulling him away from the store, letting Tylo lead him to where Isolde inevitably was.
Gideon’s heart began to pound, but he forced his feet to keep moving.
However, as they entered the apartment complex Gideon found himself almost offended on Isolde and Tylo’s behalf.
They deserve much better than this!
Standing on his toes, Tylo entered the code to the apartment and took a confident step inside.
“Mama!”
“Tylo!” She exclaimed, rounding a corner. “What are you doing back home?! Did something happen, or-“
She stopped when she saw Gideon shyly step inside. Tylo bounced on his feet happily.
“Gideon,” she whispered, hurrying to fix her hair and dust off her apron. “I- I’m sorry, I wasn’t expecting-“
“You don’t need to be sorry for anything,” he interrupted. “Not when I should get all the blame.”
Isolde placed her hands on Tylo’s shoulders, telling him something in her language that sent him scurrying down the hall after a look over his shoulder.
“Did you find him?” She wondered.
“He found me,” Gideon answered. “And I’m trying so hard to remember but I just can’t-“
Isolde’s small hand touched his arm and his world aligned again.
“I missed you,” he summed up, simply. “I wish I could have- I should have come back. But I thought my work wasn’t done. My work for both of you, to keep you safe.”
“They sent out your name as killed on Jakku.”
“Who?”
“The Rebels,” she said. “I didn’t believe it. And I certainly didn’t tell Tylo.”
“I crashed. And I woke up and then-“ his eyes narrowed.
“Gideon?” She asked. “What is it?”
“I think that’s what happened. The crash is what gave me the amnesia and I forgot all about Tylo. I’m sure he was the last thing I was thinking about as I went down, how I wouldn’t get to see him grow up.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter now. We’re all together again, and we can stay that way-“
“Isolde.”
Her eyes changed to a look of sad understanding. “You can’t stay.”
“Not for long.”
She closed her eyes for the briefest of moments, allowing herself some time to grieve the now-lost hope of a happy family, then settled on a bittersweet smile. “Then let’s celebrate what we have while we can. I’ll make dinner!” She turned and headed to the kitchen, and Gideon could just barely hear her humming a song under her breath. That’s not the lullaby, he noted. That’s something…special. Something for us…
Where did that song come from? “The party,” he said aloud, talking through his thoughts. Isolde whirled around in surprise, evidently unaware he heard her. “When I first realized how I felt about you. You looked so beautiful in that Kimono, and you’re still every bit as stunning now.”
“Can you two stop being so mushy?” Tylo interrupted in an exaggerated whine. “I want food!”
“Alright, alright, I’m going!” Isolde laughed. She looked back at Gideon and asked, “You do still like my dumplings, right?”
"Of course," he replied. "Can I help make them? It's been too long since I've made my own food. They may not turn out as perfectly as when you do them, but still." Isolde nodded and led him back to the kitchen, with Tylo trailing behind them.
As the little family sat down to eat, Gideon found himself trying to take in every detail about them. The way Isolde and Tylo made the same face when they laughed, how she had a tiny bit of grey hair.
How she still wore the ring on her finger.
Isolde could tell that he was yearning for some time alone.
“Tylo, can you go and get us some tea from the shop? You know what I want, get your father some plain tea with a little bit of jelly.” When Gideon opened his mouth to protest, Isolde shot him the look she always did when she knew that she knew best.
“Okay,” he smiled instead.
When Tylo skipped off, Isolde and Gideon remained in their seats at the table.
“What will you do?” She whispered.
“I made Tylo my aide, he’ll be at my side at all times, you don’t need to worry.”
“And you’ll visit?”
He nodded. “As often as I can.”
Isolde reached out and placed her hand over his. “I’ll be ready.”
“And you’ll call me,” Gideon handed her a new comm, and also several credits.
“Gideon-“ Isolde began.
“This is more than what I owe you. For Tylo. Use it to find a better place for the two of you. Please. You deserve so much better.”
She nodded, slowly, wiping her eyes.
But there wasn’t long to be sentimental. Tylo returned, and Isolde and Gideon both turned back into happy parents enjoying time with their son, until he fell asleep between the two of them on the couch.
“Where’s his room?” Gideon asked, gently picking up the boy and being surprised at how light he was.
“There’s only one,” Isolde pointed down the hall.
Just like when he was a baby, she never did like it when he slept separately.
As gently as possible, Gideon laid Tylo down and watched him curl up. He took off his overshirt before returning to Isolde, who hadn’t moved.
“You must be slightly angry at me.”
“I can’t be angry if it wasn’t your fault that you forgot. It’s just- it’s a bit awkward, more than anything.” She looked down at her hands. “We were so close and now it’s hard to think of ever being like that again.”
“Maybe one day we’ll be ready,” Gideon agreed. “But for now, we can just enjoy this,” he held out his arm for her, and she smiled, leaning into it.
Soon, she was carried to the bed, and there was just enough room left for Gideon to squeeze in with his arms around them.
Leaving was always the hardest part.
Gideon and Tylo could have been home for a day, or a week, and it was always just as hard to leave Isolde again. Even if it was just a quick meal, it was still hard.
At least they were able to call during the week.
“You really made Tylo’s day, switching Tay’s stations like that, he’s talking nonstop.”
“Who is Tay again?”
“His best friend from school, they were sent to another academy.”
Gideon nodded, half paying attention to the datapad he scrolled through.
“That’s where he is now, I think,” he murmured.
“What?”
“Nothing,” Gideon quickly smiled even though he couldn’t see.
“I have to admit, I’m finally enjoying all this extra space. So much more room in the kitchen, and now Tylo has his own space to nap, sometimes. It reminds me of our old apartment.”
“Lots of memories there.”
“Lots,” Isolde agreed, and they both blushed thinking of the few particular memories they’d made there-
And how they’d managed to do the same in this new one as well, between random errands of Tylo’s or days he went to visit friends, or the occasional “date”.
On Isolde’s side of the call, she frowned slightly as her fingers clumsily dropped a stitch on the blanket she was making. A small, lavender one.
“When will you stop by again?”
“I’m not sure. We’re so far away right now, it may be a few months.”
Months, Isolde mouthed, looking into her lap.
It’s just you and me, then.
“Be careful,” she begged.
“Always. You know that.
“Gideon?”
“Yes?”
“When can you come home permanently?”
“I still don’t know,” this was getting into dangerous territory. “We’ll talk about it next time I’m home. I promise. Talk about something good before you hang up, I want to imagine your smile.”
And Isolde launched into one of her favorite baby stories about their son.
“Call me as soon as you’re home, alright?” Gideon reminded Tylo, fastening the top button of his uniform.
“Yes, dad.”
“The ship I got you should have a full tank, so you won’t need more until you come home. I’ll meet you in the hangar, right here.”
“ Dad,” Tylo whined. “People are staring.”
“Fine. Go.” Gideon patted Tylo’s back and then gently shoved him away, Crossing his arms as he stood up and watched Tylo board the small transport that they’d been practicing with. And now he would take it all the way home, to Kaiyo.
Is this what they mean by proud dad moments? He wondered as he watched Tylo’s ship lift off.
He turned on his heel to walk back to his office. Several other officers stared, wondering what had caused the gradual change in Commander Hask. Was he truly that lonely, a lowly aide was keeping him company now?
After a meeting about the Resistance amassing near D’Qar, Gideon was back resting in his room when his comm lit up frantically.
It was Tylo, screaming in a panic about his mother. "Slow down," Gideon instructed, though he felt his stomach drop the second he heard Isolde’s name. "Take a breath and tell me what's going on."
The boy nodded and followed the orders, explaining at a more gentle pace. "Mama's having a baby! Like, right now! "
"She’s what?! Why didn't she tell me?!" He was on his feet in an instant, hardly thinking of where he was going until he was at the hangar in front of a starship. I can’t just take off now, they'll track me down. I'd end up leading the First Order straight to them. I need a plan…
His plan came to him in the form of a red alert blaring across the comms. "REPORTS OF REBEL ACTIVITY ON STARKILLER BASE. REPEAT: REBELS ON STARKILLER BASE. ALL HANDS TO THE HANGAR." Well, that'll work. Nothing like a bit of chaos to cover your escape. He hopped into the starship, overriding the preset coordinates and inputting Kaiyo as the new destination.
Now just to hope I don’t get caught.
Though as another face in an endless chaotic crowd, that wasn’t likely.
One TIE fighter wouldn’t be missed by the First Order. But it was certainly still of interest to the Rebels.
Immediately he was being trailed by two X-wings.
Not good.
And they would never believe me if I said I was deserting.
When the shots came, he had to bank out of the way, leaving his stomach a few parsecs behind.
Am I really that old? Flying has never been this difficult.
But his instincts took over and soon he didn’t have to think, just flew. He was headed into the atmosphere when the debris of a destroyed fighter came hurtling towards him, unavoidable.
He cursed when all the sensors lit up, just as he broke into the atmosphere.
There were no rebel ships in sight, they must have used hyperspace. And then few First Order Star destroyers were soon to be in retreat. The only option with his crippled fighter, but he would never make it home. Either he would be destroyed as a member of the First Order or executed as a deserter.
Isolde, Tylo, I’m sorry.
Then out of the corner of his eye, he saw it.
The Corvus.
Eh, what the hell. They’ve earned the right to kill me if they choose to. I’d rather them do it.
And Hask veered straight for it.
“What the hell is he doing?”
Shriv Suurgav and Del Meeko watched curiously as the crippled TIE continued its course towards the ship.
“Is Iden back yet?” Del asked, itching to leave. If she was, they could leave.
“That’d be a negative, sir,” said Caton.
“Could it be a kamikaze run?” Shriv wondered.
“I thought that Iden was with you?” Del said.
“Well, she’s your wife, I figured you’d have half a sense about where she got off to-“
A sudden headache hit Del, in the corner of his temple. It was the kind that only hit when there was trouble. When they were younger, he and his brother referred to it as a “force headache”, not knowing that they were mostly correct.
“Hail them,” he ordered Caton, and saw his brother smiling in the shiny reflection of the console.
“Incoming vessel, this is Del Meeko of the Corvus. State your intentions.”
Hask’s heart turned a somersault. “Del. It’s Gideon.”
“ Hask ?”
“Look, there’s no time to explain. My fighter’s damaged. I’ll surrender if it makes you feel better but I mean to defect.”
Silence.
“Del?”
“What do you want, Hask?” Asked a new voice that had been patched in. He also saw an X-wing pull up beside him.
Iden.
“I just want to talk. Put me in the brig, arrest me, I don’t care.”
“Why should we trust you?”
“If you ever considered Isolde your friend, you’ll allow me into your hangar.”
Silence again.
“Let him in, Del. He’ll land first with no funny business or I’ll blast him right back out the airlock.”
True to his word, Gideon landed the fighter in the Corvus’s hangar and climbed out with his hands up.
“Del,” he said, nodding to the older man who had his arms crossed as he glared down at him.
“Gideon,” Del responded, as a sudden wind forced him to his knees and someone put handcuffs onto his hands.
“Wait!” Iden called, jumping down from her X-wing. “He doesn’t need those, Chaol. Ceyn, let him go.”
The man holding him, Ceyn, apparently- nice touch- let him go.
Iden was older too. Arguably, even older looking than Del. Her hair was completely grey, even if Del’s was still dark. And she still held herself high, even if age might have slowed her.
Gideon rubbed his wrists, but stayed with his knees on the ground.
“Talk,” Iden ordered.
"I'm not sure what to say," he replied truthfully. "I'll start with I'm sorry. For everything. Thank you," he added, "for trusting me enough to let me land. I…I know it can't have been easy."
“That’s an understatement,” Del murmured, taking a step closer.
“Would you take me to Kaiyo?” Gideon wondered. “I know- I know you might want to take me off to jail or whatever but just let me say bye to my family first.”
He turned to Iden. “Iden, you remember Tylo? My little boy?”
She nodded.
“He’s fourteen now. Almost fifteen. And Isolde-“ his throat bobbed.
What if it’s like last time?
What if she’s slowly bleeding out because Tylo doesn’t know how to take her to the medcenter?
He wiped his eyes.
Iden nodded to her sons. “Go tell them to set the course.”
“ Thank you.”
“I never knew you had a son,” Del frowned, looking mostly at Iden. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because it was a secret, right up to the day he was born.”
“Right before you started your attack, I’d sent Tylo home ahead of me. He called and told me that Isolde was in labor again and I knew I had to get home. You remember, Iden? Surely.”
“Of course.” Being a mother now herself helped Iden relate to Gideon’s worries. She’d had her fair share of difficult deliveries.
“I’ll tell them to hurry.”
They allowed him to leave the Corvus with the stipulation that he was unarmed and Iden had to go with him. Or, it was more like she insisted.
Gideon’s anxiety was almost bad enough to make him sick as he opened the door to the apartment and stepped inside.
“Tylo?” He called. “Isolde?”
“In here,” Tylo called back from his parent’s bedroom.
Iden sat down on the couch as Hask hurried away.
Is she still in labor?
The question was answered as soon as he rounded the door. He heard it before he saw it: the soft cries of the baby that he hadn’t known existed. And there was Isolde, looking extremely tired, but happy.
“Your little girl, Gideon,” she murmured when she saw him standing in the doorway.
Tylo was just lying against his mother’s shoulder, seemingly unfazed by any childbirth he’d witnessed.
The parents began to speak at the same time, and then looked away shyly.
“You go first,” Gideon insisted.
“I didn’t even know I was pregnant,” Isolde insisted. “No symptoms, and hardly a bump at all.”
“Impressive, she looks big and healthy.”
Isolde nodded, “what were you going to say?”
“Nothing. Don’t worry.”
That’s both our children whose births I’ve missed.
Isolde must have sensed his sadness. “She came quickly, I didn’t even realize what was happening until Tylo came in, asking me if I was alright.”
Gideon leaned over to kiss her, much to Tylo’s disgust. The new baby objected too, sneezing directly in Gideon’s face as he leaned back.
“Do you still like the name Hanan?” Isolde wondered.
“Yes,” Gideon agreed. “Hanan.”
There was the magical moment when he got to hold her for the first time, see how much she looked like Tylo or Isolde.
“Hello, Hanan. I’m your dad.”
She cooed, kicking her tiny legs underneath the blanket. She blinked up at him, and in that moment, Gideon knew his future could be so much brighter than he’d ever imagined. The war might not have been over, but his was. Now he didn’t have to worry about being separated from his family again.
“And I’m not going anywhere.”