Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or any characters therewith.
Authors Note: Happy Mothers Day ! To all you mothers out there: You do more good, give more blessings, and influence more lives than you'll ever know! You deserve this day!
"Mother, don't worry so much. It'll be fine, I promise."
The distraught woman faked a smile at her son.
"Okay."
The man sighed. "Everything will be okay, mother. Father's transport business is really starting to take off, and you and he will be well taken care of, you'll see."
"I'm not worried about us, Voss. You're my youngest son, and you're leaving me."
Parck sighed again. "It's not like that, and you know it mother. I'm not leaving you; I'm being transferred is all."
"Ah, transferred. Because that makes it better?"
Parck shook his head slowly and took a seat on one of the couches in the Family Room.
"I'm doing my duty, Mother. Surely you must understand that?"
"Surely I must understand?" She demanded.
"Yes! Of all people mother, I assumed you would. After all both father and grandfather served."
"And you think it wasn't hard on me, Voss? Watching my father leave us for months on time, with little to no contact from him? And then again with my husband? And now my youngest child, my baby, wants to leave me too? And you expect me to understand?"
Parck offered his hands to his mother.
"We're Parck's, mother. We're born to serve."
"Serve? Ha! Serve what, Voss? Serve who?"
"You mother! I took a vow to serve and protect you. I must uphold that vow."
Parck pulled his mother close to him, and motioned her to sit next to him.
"I promised to protect you during the Clone Wars, and I fully intend to continue to fulfill that promise. Besides, I don't remember you acting like this during the last war,"
"You don't remember, Voss? Of course you don't. I pretended to be brave for you. For your father. I cried myself to sleep every night, Voss. Don't make me go through that again."
Parck placed his hands over his mothers, and looked her in the eye.
"I have no choice, mother. I have cast my lots already, and I must follow where they land."
"And they land with the alien, and not your family?"
"Mother, you took no offense to Senior Captain Thrawn when I introduced you to him, or any other time. Why now?" Parck asked, brushing a hair from her face.
"Why now, Voss? How can you ask that? Because before he never intended to take my son from me, and bring him to the Unknown Regions! Because he was still looked upon with favor in the Imperial Center! Because there was no risk of losing you!"
The woman broke into tears. Parck pulled her close to him, letting her sob into his uniformed shoulder.
"Shh, mother. It'll be alright, I promise. You're not going to lose me. I'm doing my duty, and my honor demands that I continue that duty. Don't you understand?"
She slowly nodded. "Just because I understand, doesn't mean I have to like it."
Parck smiled. "I know." He glanced up at the wall chrono. "Listen, I have to leave now. I'll contact you and father whenever I can, alright? And don't worry. Thrawn is a wonderful officer. I have absolutely no fear for my personal safety under his command."
"And what about your new Captain?"
"Niriz? Him as well. It will be fine, mother. Soon the Imperial Center will realize what a mistake it is to lose Thrawn, and we'll all be ordered home. You'll see."
His mother smiled slightly. "It isn't Thrawn that their making a mistake about, Voss."
Parck smiled, and lightly kissed his mother's cheek before standing up. He straightened his uniform.
"I love you, mother. Never forget that."
She smiled. "I love you too, son."
Parck smiled again, and, too soon, was gone.
"Be safe."