A few days later, Iz was feeling significantly better. He'd become fast friends with the medics assigned to him, who were more than happy to chat with him about their job and exactly what seemed to have happened to him. He was happy to have a slightly better understanding of the fatigue that always followed the healing process.

The medics were very cautious about releasing him, but they finally gave him the okay. As if by magic, his shoes reappeared. His suspicion was that the medics hid them to try and keep him there. He wasn't sure how effective the strategy was – Mika apparently wandered off undetected at some point during the day. The medics were all in a fit trying to find her, but Cerys let them all know Mika wandering away wasn't entirely unusual behavior.

Cerys was with him as the medics performed a few last checks. She'd been with him all morning, and left late last night. Though this morning, they weren't alone. Cohren had joined them. Iz didn't mind; he was incredibly kind to both of them and was actually great company to have around. He was friendly and polite and Iz got the impression he could trust him with anything – He was just a really nice guy.

"You're sure he's okay to go?" Cerys asked the medics. She looked very concerned. He had half a mind to think she'd been pulling strings behind his back, making sure they kept him here until he was very much recovered. He didn't entirely blame her – she'd seen enough of the people she cared for hurt, if him staying in the med bay an extra day made her feel better, he was willing to take that bullet.

"Yes, if everything here looks okay I'd say he's made a complete recovery."

"I'm sure I'm fine. I feel about a million times better."

The doctor lifted the back of his shirt and Iz hissed as he placed a cold device against his bare skin.

Cohren squinted, "Is your entire back covered in those tattoos?"

"Er… yeah." He decided not to mention it really covered his whole body.

"I've never seen your back…" As soon as the doctor moved away Cerys grabbed the back hem of his shirt and pulled it back up, running a finger along the unmarked trail of skin leading up his spine. "Woah. This must have been really painful, your entire back is covered!"

He laughed nervously and grabbed her hand. She had no idea what she was doing. Standing next to the door, Cohren was trying to hide a laugh.

"Alright," The medic stepped in front of them. "Everything looks good. I think you're good to leave whenever you like."

Iz smiled, more grateful for the distraction than anything else. "Thank you."

The man nodded, "Not at all. You're welcome back here any time, though we'd prefer you aren't a patient next time."

The medic – a man named Sebbie - had spoken with him earlier in the day and offered to let Iz shadow him if he was interested. He'd noticed Iz's curiosity about what he was doing, and thought, correctly, that he might be interested in learning more.

Iz thanked him again and he left. He stood and stretched, feeling like it was the first time he'd truly been out of the bed since he was brought here. "So… how long are you guys planning on staying on this little planet? I imagine you all have things to do."

Cohren nodded, "Yes, I'm not privy to exact plans yet, but I imagine we'll need to leave in a few days at most." He paused, "Honestly, this is a little nice. It's like a mini vacation for everyone."

"Cohren…" A woman's voice came from the hallway. She stepped into the room – very tall and very blonde. There was absolutely no way she wasn't Cohren's mother. She towered over Iz by several inches. She paused when she saw Iz. "Oh. He's awake."

"Ah, Iz, this is my mother."

"Iz?" She held a hand out, "It's good to meet you. I've heard a great deal about how much you helped your companions."

He looked at her hand. This was Hux's old colleague. She worked on the Starkiller as well. She was high ranking, knew Hux well.

He rubbed his forehead. If Cohren hadn't mentioned her shared history with Hux, he wouldn't have an issue shaking her hand. She had, after all, helped Cerys and the others so much while he was unconscious. He shouldn't have a problem shaking her hand. But somehow he couldn't remove the thought from his mind.

When he looked up he saw she and Cohren were wearing identical expressions – one awkwardly raised eyebrow and a slight frown.

He sighed. If it weren't for this woman, and for her son, Mika would be dead. There was a good chance Cerys may have wound up injured as well – Cohren's men landing their ship near Ren's home had scared away the shooter.

He wasn't sure how his life was turned on its head so quickly. For years, there was some deeply injured part of him that wanted revenge for his family. And last night he was trading kisses with the daughter of the man responsible for giving the command.

He shook her hand, "Er… hello. I'm sorry. I…" She was still looking at him oddly, like she was suspicious of him. Might as well lay it all on the table. "I suppose her father hasn't mentioned… My family was on Hosnian Prime when the First Order fired their weapon."

The woman's hand froze mid shake. "Oh… Oh dear…"

"I'm sorry, I'm not trying to behave offensively, I'm just…"

She shook her head quickly, withdrawing her hand. "No. You certainly don't need to apologize for anything. I understand. I had no idea…"

"I do need to thank you. For having your medics attend to me and for helping the others while I was out…"

She blinked quickly, looking taken aback. "I don't think you need to thank me for anything. I…" She shook her head, looking to the door. "I will have to speak with Hux about this, he should have mentioned."

"I have a feeling he's not thinking clearly at the moment. It's not a problem, I just… didn't want to appear completely offensive."

"No… no." She looked at the door again. Maybe he shouldn't have said anything. It was all so terribly awkward now. "I am sorry; I have some other matters to attend to." She looked back at him. "You should know that you are welcome here. It may be the very least I can do."

She left quickly, Cohren watching after her. He waited a few moments for her to be long gone before he spoke. "I'm sorry Iz. I had no idea."

He shook his head. "How could you have? Anyhow, you didn't do anything wrong. You would have been too young to be involved with the program."

Cohren frowned a little. "The Order is part of my blood… my mother was involved in many of the actions taken by the organization, as was my father. I was too young to be a true member by the time it disbanded, but I was in the Junior Officer training program." He paused. "I still don't know what to think of the whole ordeal. The scale of the destruction was so massive it's difficult to comprehend. But my family and I carry some responsibility for the things that happened. My mother played such a large role in everything; she's quite reluctant to speak about it. But… she feels guilt. A terrible amount of it, I think."

Iz scratched his head and clicked his teeth, "Eh… yeah. I mean, that's good, I guess. But… honestly the empathy is a little too late."

Cohren nodded. "Yes, I understand that. I think she does as well. It's why she made no attempt to apologize to you. She knows she could never begin to patch the wounds she's caused. My family and I… we are one unit. That's how my mother raised my brother and I to think. I am not ashamed of my mother…" He nodded to Cerys, "Just as I'm sure she's not ashamed of her father."

Iz sighed, glancing to Cerys. Her lips were pursed, like she wanted to say something but didn't quite know how to say it.

"You know, for years I imagined what it might be like to meet some of the Order officials. I think… I think I just pictured them with talons and fangs like they were inhuman creatures. I mean what they did was certainly inhuman, so it would make sense that they would be ludicrously evil. And instead I spent the past three weeks aboard a tiny ship laughing at the jokes Armitage Hux makes that nobody else really gets and harboring some sort of weird…" He hesitated and looked at Cerys, "… some weird affection for his daughter. All the while I had no idea that this was the man who was very much responsible for the death of my entire family. These people… the ones I've daydreamed of killing at times… they're not ludicrously evil, they're ludicrously human, and dimensional, and complex."

He stopped and shook his head, "I guess what I'm trying to say is that I have no idea what to think of any of this. Right now, I'm coping with it by ignoring it. I certainly… certainly can't think of forgiveness yet. But I can ignore it." He paused. "That is, if we just don't talk about it."

Cohren scratched his jaw line, "I suppose that does make sense. If that's the case…" He glanced out to the hallway, "Let's get out of here and help you get your mind off this."

Iz was terribly grateful that he understood.

After spending the day walking the small island with Cerys and Cohren, they returned to the ship. Iz had been provided quarters on the ship, but had to make a quick return to their small ship.

He was surprised to see Armitage sitting on one of the cushions in the main area. Maybe he shouldn't have been surprised. He had a glass and an open bottle of some sort of alcohol, sitting with his elbow on the table, his hand over his mouth. He didn't seem to notice Iz; he just stared into space, tired and unfocused.

It was pathetic. He sighed, reminding himself he promised Cerys he would keep an eye on her father.

"… Hux?"

The man blinked and glanced to him. Maybe he did know Iz was there and just didn't care.

"You shouldn't be here. You're just making it worse for yourself."

He could see the man's mouth move behind the hand, his beard shifting. He refilled his glass.

Iz decided to take another approach. He moved into the seat across from him. "Your daughter is worried about you." He glanced to the glass. "I can see why."

"Mm." He grabbed the drink, finally exposing his mouth. "She's amazing, isn't she? She's been so focused on me and you and the other two… That is not something she gets from me." He paused. "I don't know that she got it from her mother either. I don't know where that comes from."

He watched Hux closely as the man drank. He carried it well. His speech was slurred, but not horrible.

"It comes from knowing the pain of losing someone you care for deeply. She's terrified of losing anyone else."

"Mm." He looked back to the cockpit quickly, blinking. "You asked me, just a few days ago, if I regretted my past actions. Had I not given the order to fire that weapon, I never would have met Mila, or my daughter. Mila would be alive, and my daughter would be safe. I'm well aware that most likely isn't the answer you want, it's far too selfish, but the two of them mean more to me than everyone else."

Iz considered how he wanted to respond. "Had you not fired that weapon, your daughter would be completely alone. She has a family here, which makes her happier than anything. Even if it's broken at the moment."

Hux paused, covering his mouth again and looking at Iz. "She's quite taken with you."

He nodded, "I'm happy to be her friend. I think she needs one."

Hux polished off his glass quickly and refilled. "That's not what I was talking about. You still haven't noticed. Mila never saw it either. I don't know how, but… I suppose she has been very secretive about it. I thought it was odd at first – I've never known the girl to not get exactly what she wants when she wants it. It somehow never occurred to me that I was the thing stopping her from pursuing you."

Iz's mouth hung open a little. "I… er… what gives you the idea she…"

"My daughter is careful. But the way she watches you when she thinks nobody is paying attention… And the way she behaves when you join a conversation. She stops breathing." He blinked quickly. "It's painfully obvious; I don't know how none of you noticed."

It wasn't even remotely obvious, Iz thought. He must just know his daughter that well.

Hux shook his head, "None of this is to say that I approve of…" He motioned toward Iz, "the entire situation. But you clearly still have feelings for her despite now knowing who her father is so… so that is something."

Iz blinked at him, entirely unsure of how to respond.

"I suppose what I'm trying to say," He looked frustrated that he had to explain, "is when she gives up this act and makes a move, I trust that you will treat her well." He hesitated. "She is the last thing I have. I will not tolerate seeing her mistreated."

"You… must be very drunk."

"I'm not."

"You've never shared more than two or three sentences with me at a time, and now you're very nearly giving me approval to pursue your daughter."

Hux blinked at him, looking down his nose. "I am not giving you premission. I never said that. I said when she makes a move."

He tried to hide a smirk, "Does this mean you actually think I'm okay?"

"It means," Hux said sharply, "That I think you make her happy. I think that being with you would make her happy. And while I'm not entirely sure why she feels that way, I will not do anything to prevent her from being happy."

Iz thought for a moment, then realized this was possibly his chance to get Hux to answer a burning question. The man was just drunk enough that he might answer honestly. "What exactly is it that you have against me?"

Hux blinked at him.

Iz shrugged, "I'm just curious. What about me is objectionable to you?"

He gazed across the table at him, like he was trying to read his mind. "You… Force types… you're all quite odd. Granted I haven't met many, but I did work very heavily with Ren for many years… It's all too unpredictable for me."

"That's it? That I'm Force sensitive?"

Hux hesitated. "When I worked with Ren, I remember thinking, very plainly, that he was so reliant on his Force abilities that he'd never bothered to hone any of his other skills. And I've seen it in every force user I've met since. There's this sense of… sort of smug superiority, like you happened to be born with this sixth sense that only one in a billion people gets and it's apparently so great it makes you in an entirely different class than everyone around you. What most Force users are too stupid to realize is that mentality is their biggest weakness. You become so reliant on that skill that you forget to hone any of your other skills. The next thing you know, you have someone like Ren. Disastrously powerful and completely inept when it comes to anything he can't use the Force on."

Iz nodded slowly. He actually understood the opinion. He'd noticed it as well. "It does turn into a crutch for many."

"Right. Which doesn't make any sense to me, because it's completely unreliable. I've seen Ren's powers backfire on him, or even completely fail to work. And then what is he left with? Nothing."

"You really think Ren is nothing without his Force sensitivity?"

Hux nodded his head from side to side. "I mean, the man does have some tactical skills, I think maybe a natural gift from his mother. Unfortunately it's been dampened over the years from neglect. How does one do that?" He sounded indignant. "He's the son of Leia Organa, one of the best strategists to have lived. But that all went to the wayside because he could… trip people without touching them. It's monstrous."

"And you think I do that?"

Hux paused again, refilling his drink. "I thought you did. I may be wrong about that."

"Thank you."

Hux blinked at him.

"I've noticed that habit in Force users as well. I try to avoid it. I'm glad you've noticed."

The conversation fell to silence and he noticed Armitage was staring into space again.

He sighed, "What are you doing here, Hux? This isn't a good place for you to be. You're just dwelling…"

"I can dwell here or I can dwell elsewhere. What does it matter?"

He frowned. "You wouldn't be staring at the spot she died."

Hux downed the rest of his drink a little more quickly than Iz was comfortable with. "I'm not staring at the spot she died. I'm staring at the spot she stood when she asked me to spend the rest of my life with her."

Iz looked at him, not quite sure he understood.

He pointed into the cockpit, and then moved his finger to the ramp, "She died about… ten steps from that spot."

"I… I'm very sorry to hear that. I didn't know…"

"We were going to tell Cerys the next day, after Mika's celebration." He sighed, rubbing his face and suddenly looking very tired. "I don't know that I can ever tell her now."

"I don't know what to tell you."

"Mm. There is nothing to say about it. It's just… bad. All bad."

Iz watched him quietly for a few moments. Hux paid no attention to him; his eyes were fixed on the cockpit.

"I don't think you deserved any of this."

Hux blinked at him.

Iz shrugged. "If I can be honest with you, I always wanted to see you suffer for what you did to my family, and to so many others. Now that I can see it…" He shook his head, "When I wished that upon you, I wanted you to suffer alone. I never… I never could have imagined you were even capable of loving someone, but even then I never would have wanted other people hurt to get to you. I suppose I know the feeling all too well. It's awful to have to wonder why you're the one who survived."