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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 2187850" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 200: My SonSilence. Slowly, with a completely lost look on his face, Akan looked to the Alraxian that the Empress had just called his father. The man...Alraxian, whatever, looked just a shocked and surprised at what the Empress had said as Akan figured he looked. After a short moment of staring at him, Akan slowly turned to look to Shadow. She was grinning. It was a very big grin and she was obviously trying not to start laughing. When he looked to her parents, Akan noticed they had the same expression.    Numerous times, he opened his mouth to try and say something, but couldn’t ever manage to get anything out. They weren’t playing a joke on him...despite the grinning, they were serious. And it had been checked on...and his...his...and Navik looked just as he did, which meant he wasn’t in on it, which meant they definitely were telling the truth...which meant...    And then his brain popped again and stopped working. Akan had only ever thought about his parents when he’d been very young and jumping from ship to ship alone. But that was near twenty years ago, and since then, Akan hadn’t once ever even thought about either of his parents. They were there, he lived, it was all that mattered. Sure, he’d been resentful for those first few years, but surviving meant focusing on more important things.    Which is why he just stood there looking at the rest of them, especially this Navik Keros, for any answers. They’d all obviously expected some other reaction from Akan, especially Shadow, but instead he’d reacted in a way that would have been expected from her. But what was supposed to say? Or do? What if the Alraxian really was his father?! That didn’t even make sense! He wasn’t Alraxian, he was Human...changed species only from a simple mistake when it got right down to it. And yet...through the Force...there was something...    Navik Keros blinked, slowly recovering from his own shock at what had just been said. First, he turned and looked straight to the Empress, and managed to speak, “This is...Jyren? My little Jyren...?”    The Empress’ smile couldn’t grow anymore, but she simply nodded. It was Cole, though, who leaned forward to say, “I checked it out. Ever since I saw the kid, I thought there was something, so I decided to see.”    Slowly, the shocked look on Navik’s face faded into a smile as he looked back to Akan...Jyren...whatever his name was now. He then took a step forward and suddenly brought Akan into a very strong hug, actually lifting him up slightly in the process, “My little Jyren! I never thought I’d see you again!”    He laughed before placing Akan back down onto his feet, Navik’s hands still on the young Alraxian’s shoulders as he looked him over and smiled. When he remained silent, though, the Empress also took a step forward and looked to Akan, “Aren’t you going to say anything to him?”    Again, all eyes fell onto him. A few more moments passed before Akan finally managed remember the basics of speaking, “I...I don’t know what I’m supposed to say...”    “You aren’t supposed to say anything,” Navik said, shaking him very gently.    Slowly, Akan looked into the other Alraxian’s eyes. He almost didn’t speak again, but then said, “I’m sorry but I just...I just don’t have anything to say to you. Maybe if you’d been around fifteen years ago I’d at least have yelled at you but...but I just don’t have anything to say.”    There was a short silence, and slowly, Navik nodded, the smile fading from his face, “I’m so sorry I couldn’t be there for you.”    “I was, too,” Akan said flatly, almost a hint of spite seeping into his tone, “But that was along time ago. I fought in a war when I was just a child. I watched someone I loved die in that war, and I grew up. I watched myself kill a man that should have taken my life. And you know what? Through all of that, only once did I ever wonder where my father was. I wanted to know why he wasn’t there to make things right like a father is supposed to do. But he wasn’t. For all I knew...for all I hoped he was dead. So I moved on, and it never mattered anymore.”    Another silence. Even Shadow was stunned by how harsh Akan’s words and tone had grown. Navik sighed and nodded again, a look of despair coming over him, “I deserve worse. I know that apologizing won’t change what happened, but I did what I had to.”    “What you had to?!” Akan suddenly snapped, pushing the older Alraxian back forcefully as his voice reached a yell, “You had to abandon a small child in the middle of a galaxy caught in a war without anything?! You had to just throw me away without even a place to go?! I lived on the streets of so many planets I can’t even remember all the names, anymore! That wasn’t living! It surviving, but it wasn’t living! And you had to?!”    Akan’s words echoed through the chamber, and even the two guards had tensed, glancing between each other and wondering if they needed to do anything. Biting her lip, Shadow glanced from her parents and back to Akan. [Calm down...]    “You shut up!” he lashed around, growling at Shadow. This time, the guards did take a step in his direction, but the Empress waved them back. Slowly, though, Akan did calm down. It started, at least, when the Empress turned to him, her usual calm and soothing eyes also assisted with the Force to push him along gently.    A minutes passed before Akan ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes. He was about to say something, when Navik stepped forward and hugged him again, speaking quietly, “I’m sorry, Jyren...it was a cruel thing I did but I didn’t know what else to do, and I couldn’t go back once it was done. I...when you were very young, your mother died when a Dragon attacked the settlement we were building. It was foolish to think we could encroach on the creature’s territory but we did it anyway...”    Akan started to notice that the older Alraxian’s voice was becoming more tense, and he was obviously fighting back the painful memories, “When your mother died, I knew this place was too dangerous for you. Humans are too fragile to live here...so I did what I thought was right. I...I took you away from the Empire and to the Humans of the galaxy. I thought you’d be safe...I didn’t know anything of the politics there. Not the recent ones from after you were born, at least. I just thought you’d be safe there...”    Somehow, Akan managed to nod, pulling back slightly from the older Alraxian and looking him in the eyes, “My mother was Human? I thought...thought it wasn’t possible for Alraxians to breed with other species without one of the two giving up their species...”    “It is...possible,” Navik nodded, giving the Empress a sideways glance for a moment, “I am the Ambassador for the Empress to the other species of the Empire. Obviously, I could not give up my species. Your mother...your mother was a strong, determined woman. If I had asked her, she would have joined us as Alraxians, but I never could. And so...well, you are living proof that its possible. But um...” he laughed slightly, “You were ah...human last time I saw you.”    Finally, Akan grinned, “Its been a long time.”    Navik Keros laughed and nodded, “You still look like your mother, though. I could pick you out in a crowd no matter species you are. You have her eyes.”    “Um...” Shadow raised a hand to cut in as politely as she could, “Could you both, ah...morph human? I’m a bit curious.”    Both of them nodded and complied. When it was done, there was much more of a resemblance to be seen than when they were both Alraxian. Akan looked mostly the same, actually, but Navik had almost the exact same colour hair, and their faces were constructed almost like copies. For the second time, Navik looked Akan over, grinning again, “My little Jyren...not so little anymore.”    “How...how did you meet my mother?” Akan suddenly asked, completely forgetting that anyone else was in the room and trying to put all the pieces together. Slowly, they were falling into place and things were making sense, but there were still at least a few pieces missing.    “She found us, actually,” Navik nodded to the Empress, “It would be about thirty years ago by the calendar she used. She was a Jedi Knight, running from something, though she refused to ever tell me anything about it. Only that the she’d fled from a place that she could never go back to. When she found out that we had a history with Jedi, she dug up everything she could. Without your mother’s efforts, we wouldn’t know half of the things we do today. But when she died...I...well, I told you that much, already.”    And the last piece of the puzzle finally fell into place. It explained why he felt like this place was familiar. Why it had that odd feeling of being home. It wasn’t because of the link with Shadow, it was because he really was home, and at least some part of him knew it. It brought a smile to Akan’s face as he thought of something else, immediately making another connection. Slowly, Akan reached down and detached the lightsaber from his belt.    Taking it in two hands, he held the weapon up to show...to show his father. At that, Akan saw a smile on his father’s face like nothing he’d ever seen on anyone in his entire life. He reached down and slowly took the weapon from Akan’s hands, saying quietly, “It was your mother’s. I left it with you because I thought you have at least something. She always said you should have it when you were old enough,” still smiling, Navik handed the weapon back to his son, “You don’t know how proud I am to know you kept it.”    Once Akan had clipped the lightsaber back onto his belt, his father brought him into another tight hug, and said, “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you when I should have been.”    “You did what you had to do...” Jyren replied quietly, finally returning the hug.    Off to their side, Cole very carefully wrapped an arm around Shadow’s waist. Leaning down a little, he whispered, “Sorry I wasn’t there for you, either.”    To his surprise, Shadow put an arm around him and rested her head on his shoulder. It almost made her father jump, and that only got a short laugh from her when she whispered back, “You’re forgiven this time.”    Pulling back from the hug, Navik smiled and said, “Tomorrow, we’ll all be traveling the to the Capital for a celebration of...of...” he trailed off, something suddenly dawning on him, “Jyren...can you...you morph back to Alraxian again?”    Nodding, though slightly worried at this point, Akan...Jyren...he...did as asked. Slowly, his father looked from him to Shadow, and a look of surprised washed over the man, “My lady!”    He started to bow. Started, only because Shadow escaped her own father’s grip to run over and stop Navik halfway. Standing him up completely again, she shook her head, “No formalities...please.”    “Of...of course,” he nodded, and then looked to his son one more time, “Jyren you’re...you’re the...” a sudden, huge smile grew on his father’s face, “You are the one everyone’s been talking about! My son! My son and the Empress to be!”    That again...always that, but for some reason, it was impossible to escape this time. Still surprised, Navik laughed happily and rested a hand on Jyren’s shoulder, “My son! Please, will you come with me to my home for the night? You’re uh...ah...” he nodded to Shadow, “She is welcome to join us, of course.”    Shadow shook her head, stepping back slightly. But Akan reached out to her through the link, literally pleading. [Please don’t leave me alone in this one.]    After a moment, Shadow sighed and nodded. When she did so, Navik smiled and carefully put a hand on her shoulder as well. He then looked past her to the Empress and bowed, “We will be ready to join you in the morning for the journey to the Capital.”    The Empress nodded, but said nothing. As Navik Keros led his son and Shadow out of the room, both the Empress and Emperor heard one last thing from the proud father, “My son!”    They couldn’t help but smile.((Couple things. This is update #200, so I thought I'd throw out a few stats. This Story Hour has been going for almost exactly 6 months now. With Times New Roman, Size 10 Font in Wordperfect, the document is now 351 Pages long with 335,576 words.))</blockquote>

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