The Commandant of the CorSec Academy looked down at the recruit who had been sent to his office. He then took another look at the datapad which contained the boy's paperwork.
"Eighteen? Riiiiiight." he said as he studied the form.
Usually, the underage recruits with forged paperwork waited until they were about sixteen or so before enrolling, which meant that if they didn't do anything particularly stupid and get themselves caught, he could look the other way and let it slide. This time however...
"What's your name son?" he asked the boy who couldn't have been older than twelve or thirteen.
"Hal Horn." the boy promptly replied.
"Your real name, the name you were born with." he said sternly.
He was almost sad to see the kid go, since he'd gotten some rather phenomenal scores on the entrance exam, but he would have to do so. Perhaps, if someone lost the evidence when he was charged with forging official documents, he would see the kid again in a few years. He would have to send the child home now however, and hope nobody recognized him when he reenlisted in a few years.
"Valin Ha..."
The instant he realized that the boy's surname would be Halcyon like a certain someone who everyone knew had a kid named Valin despite the fact that he constantly denied it, he cut the boy off before he could finish. He wouldn't put it past one of the more eager supporters of the new Empire who was bucking for a promotion to bug his office. He'd known the boy's father, and what the man who'd recently died was. Now that he looked at the boy, there was no mistaking the kid for anyone else's son. There would also be no sending the boy home for being underage, because someone would start digging, and odds were that the boy wouldn't make it as far as his front porch before the Empire nabbed him.
"Ah, yes Hammond. We had one of your cousins through here five years ago. I'd forgotten about that genetic condition that slows your growth and aging. Since it doesn't adversely affect your health, I think I can feel safe in signing your waver. I have to ask why you have a different name on your paperwork." the Commandant said as he pulled out and signed a waver that would allow the child standing in front of him to get around the height requirement and complete the Academy training. He knew what the boy's father was, and one of those things his father had been before the war had been a damn fine CorSec officer. Hopefully, the son would follow in his footsteps.
"My mother got married recently and I took my new father's name." the boy said.
"Ah yes, Rostek Horn, good man." the commandant said as he handed over the waver.
The boy gratefully took the form from him and raced out of his office. He hoped he made the right choice. Being a Security Officer was dangerous work, and it was most definitely no place for children. But, then again, young Valin wasn't a child anymore, he hadn't been one since the day his father had been killed for treason, a treason he knew full well the man had not committed.
If he caught the brat using Jedi mind tricks on his Instructors though, he would be coming down on him like a ton of bricks.
When it came time for graduation, he would try to see to it that the boy got assigned to a station where people knew and liked his father. It would make things easier for the boy in the future if there was someone besides him covering for him.