Hmm... another short chapter, but relatively fast updated :) I hope another one won't take me a year, beacause I have a scene in my mind of a dance and the Tarking playing a matchmaker haha

Chapter 7

Galen's POV

Galen missed his wife and daughter. Although it had been times when they were parted from each other longer than this time, as his work involved longer trips to another planets and stations, then he had been certain about returning to his family and seeing them again. Now he wasn't sure if he would see them again. Only Kyra's presence on Eadu with him was a flicker of hope in this dark times. He saw her a day before, she looked tired but fine. However, Galen was aware it would be better if she wasn't there at all, but in some safe place as far as it's possible.

For the first year after their escape from Scarif they were hiding on numerous location provided by the Resistance. Only when they went to Lah'mu, a green, rural planet, they could finally felt somehow safe. The peril from the Empire was still there, lurking behind their backs, requiring constant vigilance, but after some time they started a routine. First attempts to accustom into new reality were hard, especially when it comes to farming, but with his technical mind and Lyra's biology knowledge soon they got their first crops. Jyn was growing more curious so Lyra started to homeschool her. There was a matter of her further education, but the Ersos would eventually get help from the Resistance in finding a school or an academy. Kyra was visiting them quite often – they were still close, she and her brother, as Galen felt responsible for his little sister as he still thought of her, even though she was actively working for the Rebels.

It was a peaceful life. They were happy. Until that day.

Despite all of this Galen couldn't hate Orson for what he'd done. They had been friends for so many years he couldn't just forget that. People wondered how two such different men were almost inseparable, first in the academy, then in the projects or at work. Gales was the quiet one, almost shy, but very clever. Orson was more ambitious and charismatic. He could lie very well while Galen was awful at it and despised the manipulations. He wouldn't dare to think that someday his best friend would turn the lies against him.

Since Lah'mu they had only met in the presence of other engineers, so when Orson appeared in his quarters in the morning of a day after Galen saw Kyra, Galen was rather surprised.

"How is the work going?" Krennic asked after awkwardly silent few minutes. "Any progress?"

Galen raised his eyebrows.

"Since yesterday?" he asked incredulously. "Are you so eager for the results or just looking for an excuse to visit?"

Orson smiled crookedly while adjusting his gloves. "It has been a rough time for the project." It was meant as a playful remark, but Galen wasn't amused. Then, in more serious tone Krennic said, "It has been a long time since we last talked also. Can you blame me for visiting a longtime friend?"

"My friend would never threaten to kill my family..."

The commander rolled his eyes.

"I never threaten to kill your family, Galen, nor I intend to do so. If I had a wish to kill someone close to you I wouldn't have stopped the death troopers when your sister pointed at me with a blaster." His lips moved as if to say something more, but instead, he pressed them into a thin line.

"You imprisoned us here," Galen said in his usual calm voice, though not without the edge. "You made us the marionettes of the Empire once again. And for what, a revenge?"

Krennic turned his back to him so Galen couldn't see his face when he said, "It never meant to be this way, Galen, trust me. And I am sorry for what happened..."

"But?" Galen asked, knowing there would be the second part.

"... but you made the choice five years ago when you decided to be disloyal to me and the Empire. And since you're essential to the project finalization there was no other option but to bring you back. And..." he added before Erso could interrupt him, "...don't worry, you'll eventually see with your family as you long for... when all the work is over obviously. Why are you looking at me like that? Oh, but of course I know that Lyra and the child lives, do you think me so stupid? I've known you so many years, you're a terrible liar. We haven't found them yet, but there is a plenty of time for it, am I right?"

Krennic wasn't smiling when he was saying this.

Galen couldn't believe his own ears. There was a completely strange man standing before him, one he couldn't recognize as his best friend. Was he so hurt by Galen's escape or was it his ambition that completely overcame any human part in him?

"This is why you've abducted Kyra as well?" he couldn't help but ask. "To crush her spirit for the audacity to execute the plan of our escape? Or just for being my sister?"

Galen knew that Lyra and Orson weren't on good terms, but they tolerated each other and at least tried to be civil on meetings. But with Kyra it was different. They hated each other and none of them didn't even try to hide their animosity. They argued about everything, so after some time Galen forsook any further attempt to change their attitudes and simply tried to limit their encounters to the minimum.

Krennic bristled at those words.

"Your sister..." he spat angrily.

"What has she done to you so you hate her so much?"

"What indeed..." Krennic only said.

Though he tried to hide his changed face by stubbornly looking at the far end wall, Galen noticed his agitation and the reddening of his cheeks. This stormy expression didn't appear often, but when it did it meant that the man was deeply angered. Orson's left arm twitched slightly but visibly, and Galen Erso remembered suddenly his sister's words from Lah'mu. How is your shoulder? This, as well as Kyra's strange reaction whenever someone mentioned the names 'Krennic' or 'Scarif', brought some ideas.

"Orson? What exactly happened that night?" he asked cautiously. "Whatever it was Kyra didn't tell anyone, neither Lyra nor me, if you want to know."

Krennic turned so fast the cape on his back rustled and coiled around his legs.

His visible emotions didn't cool down yet, and if he was surprised at Kyra's secrecy of that evening, he didn't show it.

"Nothing happened," he said with a finality. "And I don't care what she says to you. Your sister is too arrogant for her own good, but unfortunately, her skills are almost as useful as yours and she was there on Lah'mu..."

His explanations didn't truly convince Galen. He felt there was something more behind his words. In fact...

"You know, Lyra asked me one day if there's something between the two of you because the tension was so palpable it bothered on hate and something opposite."

"What are you implying?" Orson asked with an edge to his voice.

"Well, I laughed at her face then..." he continued, but was interrupted by Krennic, who said:

"Well, there is nothing between me and your sister," he answered it quick and firmly, to stop further pointless insinuations. However, Galen didn't intend to end the subject. "You should know your sister very well to know that her only feeling toward my person is contempt."

"What about your feelings?" Galen risked another question.

As it turned out, it was the last straw.

"Enough of this! I will not hear about this foolish notion anymore." He took a deep breath trying to compose himself before saying. "You have to know, Galen, that the DS-1 station is of the most priority now, as you know the stake. However... I don't want you to see me as your enemy. For the sake of the past."

"I don't want this either..." Galen murmured to the empty room after Orson left. "I really do."

It was her first day off, and Kyra decided to celebrate it by going to the training room. On the way there she was amusing herself by imagining the bored faces of her faithful (faithful to who?) death troopers. How miserable their days were to follow her constantly on the same mundane walks. Although probably they were shifting, who knows with their helmets and everything.

The training room was almost empty except two or three people using a treadmill or lifting weights. Apparently, the gym wasn't the first thing when you get up here in the morning on the day off..., if you get up in the morning. The place was so vast that even if every engineer or other staff members in the whole base liked to exercise there likely would be enough space. The Empire spared no expanse in making their facilities comfortable for people who worked for them. But even Kyra couldn't deny that she happened to miss the luxury of the Empire's bases during her time in the Resistance. One could really fall for the beautiful lies dressed in rich robes.

But the purpose for her coming there wasn't simple exercising. Kyra actually wanted to learn how to fight. Well, she knew the basics, like the self-defense classes which were mandatory at the academy, and her shooting skills had also improved for the last years. Yet Kyra felt that there was one area was rusty. The sword fighting. After the Order 66 and the extinction of the Jedi the making and even using of the lightsabers of the old Jedi masters were forbidden and the only person Kyra knew to had a lightsaber was Darth Vader, a Sith Lord. Nevertheless, the many styles of sword fighting were still being practiced, although more in a sporting way. What an irony that at the very center of making the most powerful weapon in the galaxy one could train as a Jedi.

Her training master was lieutenant Sal Ventai, a short, forty-year-old woman who shamed any trooper with her flexibility and speed. First, she demonstrated her different techniques, but before they started anything she said Kyra had to learn how to properly breathe and calm her mind. As they finally trained with the practice swords Kyra felt free, she forgot about the war and battle stations and this gloomy place. She found something to wait for on these days.

Lieutenant Ventai was a great teacher with a large dose of patience. With her calm disposition, she reminded Kyra of her sister-in-law. They both were gentle souls who fitted more to the open space with closeness to the nature these cold, artificial interiors. Kyra wished to learn more about her.

When the training was over they somehow ended at the cafeteria having a second breakfast.

"I was very young when I met Darren," Sal, as she asked to call her, said with a distant look. "We got married soon after that, and then, well, the Clone Wars reaped a bitter harvest among the young and willing to fight. It took him as well. That is the short version, but it must do for now." She looked at Kyra with her wistful smile that graced her lips.

"I'm sorry," Kyra murmured. "For years people have been telling me things about the war. Now I can only imagine how many of us have been touched personally by its destruction."

"Yes. War is the worst thing that could happen to you, believe me. This is why I dedicated my life to teaching."

Kyra drew her eyebrows, as confused expression crossed her face.

"But... You teach how to fight, or even kill with sword and bare hand. How is that pacifistic?"

And to her astonishment, Sal laughed, it was slightly hoarse.

Still smiling she said, "I see that you don't know much about what you've signed up for coming here." As Kyra's eyes went big she rushed with explanations. "When I was at the military academy on Coruscant one of our teachers was a Jedi master. During those days the Jedi Order was an ally and had the prominent role in the galaxy. I liked those lessons the most because it wasn't about the harming others or winning, but it was more like fighting your own weaknesses and making peace with oneself.

"The Jedi believer here?" Kyra mused, "that's unheard of."

She wanted to know more, but Sal shook her head. "It's not that simple," she said leaving Kyra unsatisfied with the answer. Besides, Sal already changed the topic. When she asked her about her plans for the evening, Kyra told about her meeting.

Suddenly she laughed. "You know, that reminds me of a silly thing. That I have nothing to wear."

It was a painful true which Kyra hadn't thought about for the past weeks. After Lah'mu she got only standard set of clothes, including only uniforms, sleeping and exercise suits. It wasn't a problem to this day when she agreed to something resembling a date.

Sal discreetly looked her up and down and smiled.

"Don't worry," she said, "we'll figure something out."

"Miss Erso?" Kyra heard as she barely entered the bar area.

"I almost didn't recognize you out of that military uniform." Quin Ardo eyed her up and down with a disarmingly warm smile.

Sal was a godsend. She borrowed Kyra some clothes she was no longer wearing, and though she was slightly shorter than Kyra, she managed to find a very nice black jumpsuit for the night.

Kyra raised one eyebrow, and the man rushed with the explanation.

"I mean, in a good way off course. You look very nice. Different, but very pretty nonetheless," he assured her.

Kyra's green eyes twinkled with mirth hearing his reaction. The fashionably decorated place was half full, as it was a day off for a major part of personnel and there wasn't much to do on the base.

"I wasn't born in the uniform, you know," Kyra continued the topic when they took their seats "In fact..." she stopped, when she caught herself on almost saying something she shouldn't and they hadn't even ordered yet. How much she could tell to this stranger anyway? She had to be more careful. Nevertheless, Kyra carried on with that, "... in fact, I've just put on the engineer uniform again after a very long time, so I haven't used to it myself."

"How so?" Quin asked curiously. He also looked cleaner than she'd seen him a day before, with brushed hair and washed, though not so white shirt.

"Let's just say I had some break from the work for the Empire."

"Oh, I didn't know it is possible," he said looking bemused and rather intrigued.

The one corner of her lips lifted in a smirk.

"It's not."

Quinn cocked an eyebrow while not quite discreetly glanced over her shoulder in the direction of the exit. He seemed to be a little uncomfortable.

"I have to ask. Is that why the two troopers haven't let us out of their sight since you got here?"

Kyra winced. She hoped there would be another time for that.

"Well..." Quin continued, "at least I think they're staring at us, because with their helmets on and those ridiculously shaped visors I'm not sure they see anything there."

This time Kyra snorted with laughter. "You're very perceptive," she remarked. "I guess it's a trait worthy of a pilot. But yes, what you see there are my personal guards, ensuring probably that I'm having a good time here." Then she turned and waved to the troopers with a smile. She met with the perfect stillness of their pose.

"You know," Quin said, "I really want to ask you about this, but I feel I shouldn't."

"Well, it's a long story," Kyra replied trying to tactfully withdraw from the topic which she started herself. Thankfully her companion took the hint.

So they spent the next hour or so talking about other things, which was nice, as Quin turned to be (which wasn't unexpected) an amiable conversationalist. Kyra couldn't remember the last time she laughed so much with another person and even wished he wouldn't leave Eadu so soon.

Her short musing was interrupted by Quin's words.

"Oh, I didn't know commander Krennic shows himself here."

"What?" she jumped looking around herself.

Great, as if she needed this right now...

"Kyra, are you all right?" Quin asked looking worried and when she didn't respond he hesitantly touched her hand.

She looked at him and said mechanically, "Yes, I'm fine. I just..." She didn't finish.

The familiar voice sounded too close.

"I heard you are staying a little longer with us this time than usual, Mr. Ardo,"

Kyra noticed that Orson Krennic purposefully avoided looking at her direction instead he focused his attention on the pilot.

Quin nodded with a regretful smile, "That's right. Unfortunately, I have to use the skills of your mechanics, commander Krennic," he said. "However thanks to the company of the lovely Miss Erso the waiting isn't so dull." He flashed Kyra with his charming but impossibly sincere grin.

Not being a big fan of such open compliments she looked away and risked a glance at Krennic.

Though he tried to hide it, his look when he stared at Quin was venomous, which left Kyra wondered about its cause. Either there was something connected to his profession, or the Commander simply couldn't stand the presence of cheerful and outgoing people. She guessed the latter.

"Yes," he droned. "I'm sure it is."

"You know Ms. Erso, commander Krennic? She's..." he started but Krennic cut him short.

"We know each other." He straightened up and said to Quin, "I hope our people will do their best to repair your ship as soon as possible. Excuse me."

With those words, he turned abruptly and walked away with a swish of his cape.

As he was exiting the bar Kyra notice with a curiosity that he stopped by her guardian troopers and telling them few words.

"What was..." Quin started.

"Oh, don't ask, please."

Explaining the behavior of Galen and Krennic I have to remind that in this story Krennic didn't order to kill Lyra, so I think Galen doesn't feel hatred for Krennic who was his best friend for so many years after all. And, well I think Galen is kind of naive, so...

Thanks for reading :)