"Forgive me… I just don't understand, little dove."
Orion paced the rug in front of the fire (where his wife would have slept once upon a time; granted, on a different ship and in a different lifetime), fulfilling his half of one of many parental routines. While he may have been conscious for his immaculate uniform and potential post-feeding snail-trails at the beginning, he had grown since. Grown so much, in fact, that he paced the rug without fear for either his command attire or the tiny baby he clutched to his shoulder.
"What's to understand, darling?" Lucilla inquired sedately from the sofa, sprawled once her contribution to Lilia's evening meal had been completed; the actual feeding. "My father contacted me, he wants to see myself and Lily. What's so wrong with that?"
The ungloved expanse of the General's palm moved in slow, gentle circular motions to alleviate any discomfort in his precious daughter; be it a belch, a hiccup or the entirety of her meal. The mutual comfort between father and daughter extended to more than mere physicality; it reached into the very connections of their souls, keeping a bond that some could only dream of.
"I know, Lucilla…" Orion conceded, fraught by the idea but cautious with imparting the reason why. "But… Planetside? Why?"
"He's not going to snatch me away and hold me for ransom on behalf of the Resistance, Orion."
"Yes, my angel. I understand that, but-"
"Unless you are happy to welcome a Resistance sympathizer aboard Supremacy? In a much more diplomatic fashion than last time?" Perhaps his manners could have been better the last time Orion and Keir had last encountered each other; but with his father gone, the redhead couldn't help but be sighed at the rhetorical nature of the questions; mild and all as they may have been, she had him in a corner and they both knew it. Hell, even Lilia knew it. Pacing ceased, the redhead adjusted his occupied shoulder to moderate his daughter's exposure to the heat; to have her too hot or too cold would compromise the comfort her father strived to ensure she had.
"Besides, my love…" Lucilla went on, manoeuvring herself ever so slightly on the sofa; stretching as she basked in the lazy, luxurious comfort that being married to an extremely powerful man granted her. "You promised me that Lily and I would not be kept from my father if we wished to see him. You also promised me that if we felt like stretching our legs beyond Supremacy, that you would accommodate that for us. Do you recall that conversation?"
The General's lips folded into a thin line; he did recall that conversation, he had just hoped that his beloved wife would not. It was not the first time he regretted being generous where his blue-eyed beauty was involved, albeit it had been a long time ago.
Caught between a rock and a hard place, Orion found himself not wanting to cage his wife (and by effect, upset and vex her) but wanting to protect her and the baby. It wasn't that he didn't trust her to be careful, or that he didn't trust Keir (as a general rule, Orion did not trust his father in law, but he knew his priorities where Lucilla and Lilia were concerned were much the same as his own); no, his mistrust lay with certain parties outside of his control.
Bounty hunters, political extremists and all other manner of unsavouries who would relish the thought of having the General of the First Order's wife and daughter in their clutches. Think of the ransom! Think of the blackmail! And Maker forbid Orion should mention taking a security detail with her wherever she went planetside, lest she accuse him of trying to smother her. That said, Lucilla should have understood that marrying who she had married would have personal casualties; like her privacy and freedom.
She was, after all, a silent public figure. She was the reason why many small boutiques scattered across the galaxy had seen an explosion in sales. Several designers, with large and small collections, had sent her gifts in a bid to exhibit their own talent; her father in law's funeral was a prime example. Many of them side-lined their politics for the galaxy's most watched woman (who did not come out very often) to be seen in one of their pieces.
"I did say I would accommodate it…" Orion reluctantly admitted after an incriminatingly long silence, like he had spent too long looking for a loophole. "But that was with certain stipulations-!" Lucilla's sapphire eyes rolled hard, which sent Orion into a defensive fluster; why did she have to push against him like this?! When all he wanted was for her and Lilia to be safe and secure?! "If you remember-!"
"I am not taking a security detail, Orion!" Lucilla argued, abandoning her leisurely pose and sitting bolt upright instead; had she been any bigger, the swing of her legs and steel of her spine might have been intimidating. "I outright refuse! What better way is there to attract attention to us than a dozen Stormtroopers on unoccupied terrain?!" Sometimes, Orion had to remind himself that he was not listening to himself when she came out with something like that; unwittingly parroting him and his professional sentiments.
"Lucilla, you do not need a security detail to attract attention to yourself!" Orion finally snapped, tired of the barrage; but not until Lilia was safe in her basket. Her father would not have her directly infected by her parent's disagreement. "In case you haven't noticed, darling, you are one of the Order's most positive icons! Your presence would be detected sooner or later by the media, and others less friendly shortly after!"
It had been somewhat accidental, Lucilla's almost-celebrity status. All it had taken was one or two excursions at Orion's side (pregnant and not) for her to reach public attention; from there, and within certain corners of society, opinion started to soften. It's her. The advisors had claimed, monitoring the whispers. She's beautiful, delicate, but with a silent strength. She's not of Imperial stock and does not involve herself in Order policies, which makes the Order more accessible to anyone on the fence. Lucilla continued to prove them right and exceed it with every outing. More to the point, she presented herself as a human side to the stony-faced General.
Orion sighed again when Lucilla fell into huffing quiet, her eyes coldly boring into seemingly every cell and pore in his body; both covered and uncovered by his uniform.
It was at that moment, as usual, that Orion caved, and Lucilla got her own way. She knew exactly how to steer him; what buttons to press and what angles to work. Most of the time, this one included, all Lucilla had to do, was pout.
"Very well, little dove." The General conceded, flopping down onto the sofa beside his beloved; cue the sudden switch of an excited squeal and the fling of shorter, silk-clad arms around his neck. Yes, the lengths he went to in order to keep his wife happy. "Very well, no security detail."
"Sir?"
How the hell did he broach this? Voicing a concern to his superior that said superior did not seem to share? On a topic that he had been so vehement on before? Only recently, in fact? It made no sense to Mitaka but he had to try, gaining fast on the flame-headed General's heels as he went to depart the bridge.
"What is it… Lieutenant?" Lucilla had been in his ear, suggesting in her trademark sweet way, that Dopheld Mitaka did deserve a promotion; that he had outgrown the rank of Lieutenant for all he had done. With that in mind, Orion tripped over Mitaka's rank. Stopped short on the gangway, he turned in a neat pivot of his command boots and watched his inferior with the dissecting gaze of a Farlus Hawk; enough to make Mitaka gulp.
"Sir… I spoke to your wife this morning…" Not an uncommon occurrence anymore. Rather, Lucilla seemed to consider Mitaka as a friend.
"Yes?"
"Well, sir… She told me she has a planetside outing today with Miss Lilia. Unaccompanied."
General Orion Hux suddenly became internally restless and he feared that if he did not move, it would spill outwards. Between the hunger gurgling in his gut (his lunch hour tended to flitter away) and not wanting to be overheard, his tread resumed; much to the fleeting curiosity of his jittery counterpart.
"Walk with me, Lieutenant."
"Remind me of your fiancé's name, Lieutenant."
"Yvette, sir."
Yes, he remembered the name. Lucilla had parted with it on a casual basis at some point; more than once, now that he thought about it. Engagement present, she'd said as she scrolled her datapad for something suitable, Wedding present. Side by side, the two black-decked officers matched each other in their stride, in a seemingly aimless direction. As a rule, Orion made a point of never getting personal with his officers, but Mitaka had always been different; being put in charge of Lucilla's care since her arrival edged him into the General's personal life somewhat.
"And… Have you and Yvette set a date for the wedding?" Mitaka hid his bewilderment well; a long-since acquired skill in his many years of service to the First Order.
"We have, sir." He answered loyally, masking the curiosity that blared in his own mind. "Three months' time."
"My congratulations. Have you booked your planetside leave?"
"Thank you, sir. Yes, ten standard days. For the wedding and honeymoon."
"Good. Surely you won't be disappointed if the dates are in on time. I'll be sure to inform Lucilla closer to the time that you will be missing." Mitaka negated to inform his superior that his wife already knew. "Tell me, Lieutenant, what would you do to protect your wife? Or fiancé? As she is now?" The strange conversation seemed to get stranger and there was only so much Dopheld could do in restraining his puzzlement. Slowing his step but maintaining his gaze on his employer, he felt his forehead crease but answered all the same with the conviction that Orion hoped he would.
"Anything, sir. I… Yes, anything and everything. She means the galaxy to me."
"Even if it meant going against her wishes?" Orion watched this closely, examining every micromovement of conflict in his Lieutenant's features. To be fair to the younger officer, he replied in the way he hoped he would.
"Absolutely, sir. Even if I had the slightest inkling of-"
"You were right to come to me with your concern for my wife, Lieutenant; and I thank you for it." Orion stopped again, but at the mouth of the corridor where the family home lay; where he intended on parting ways with Mitaka. "Lucilla has refused a security detail but you and I both know that that is not acceptable; not with the status she now inhabits. There are people that would want to take more than just her holograph and I will not indulge in any course of action that could carry even the slightest chance of her or my daughter being harmed."
"Would you like me to accompany her, sir?" Mitaka was hardly the most imposing fellow; then again, one could be forgiven for forgetting that he had once decapitated the head of a slave syndicate, ordered the execution of his underlings and burned their headquarters to the ground. Aside from all that, the mere sight of him would not be enough to deter anyone from interfering with Lucilla.
"That's quite alright, Lieutenant." Orion opted not to offend the chap; instead, making him feel better, despite his nature. "I need you here. Recommendations are being taken and I think it would look rather well for a new rank and uniform ahead of your wedding, wouldn't you agree?" At that, Mitaka straightened; the steel in his spine only rivalled by Lucilla when things were not going her way.
"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."
"Lucilla might have avoided a security detail this time. But that is not to say she is going unaccompanied. There will be someone watching her every move and it will not be the media. All going well, she will never even realize their presence. Enjoy your lunch, Lieutenant." Orion nodded away the stiff salute and turned away again, but not before his officer's grateful parting registered in his ears.
"Thank you, sir. You too, sir."