"So… may I ask you your name?" Ylo inquired, leading the man his son had brought to him into his office.
"Roh Vagos," the man answered, reaching into his pockets, to take out a portable device. "I might have something you'd like to see," he said, handing the device over.
Without question, Ylo took the device, linked it to his digital interface and scanned through the file the device was meant to transfer. As he progressed through the file, his eyes grew bigger, eyebrows raised, disbelief and fear noticeable in his eyes.
"Is this true?"
"I fear it is, Mister Chron. You are lucky I could intercept this message and link it to you."
"When did you…?"
"Only a day ago, which means there is still time to take action. If you are ready to do so, that is."
"Yes, well…" Ylo fell silent, thinking about what step he should take. "I wonder though," he muttered, "why did you come to me with this? You don't know me, and I don't know you. What is in it for you? What does this situation have to do with you that you involve yourself in it?"
"I think it would be best for you not to know, Mister Chron, but let's say that our interests are aligned."
Ylo stared at the man, who had revealed himself to be Roh Vagos, eyes met, Ylo tried to get as much information about Vagos' intention through the look in his eyes, but there was nothing he could extract from the man's gaze. It was empty, cold, and piercing at the same time, as if the businessman was looking into his very soul. The man's gaze was unlike his appearance, which was inviting, warm, professional. He sighed, not knowing what to do about the situation. Everything he, and all his forefathers had worked for, seem to go waste, if the information he had gotten from Vagos was correct.
"It looks like you don't know what to do," Vagos noted, grinning slightly.
"Well, there's hardly anything I can do now, is there? I've got little to no contacts, because my family has lived in isolation for so long. The only resources I have is food, which is of little value at the moment, since Coruscant is well stocked. That means I haven't got any leverage on the higher-ups there, nor any money from sales, aside of the credit I have on the bank…"
"No money, no contacts… you're in a nasty situation indeed… but the situation is far from hopeless. Wherever there is time, there are options, and even when it seems there is no time at all, a choice can still be made."
"But that means there are options to choose from, which means there are people that offer options to me…" He was silent for a while, scanning Vagos intently. "Unless you are trying to say you have an option for me to choose from…?"
"Good to hear you've finally caught on," Vagos said, forcing a barky laugh out of his throat. He wasn't joined in laughter by Ylo, who was waiting for Vagos' offer. It took a while for Vagos to calm down, but after he recomposed himself, he turned more solemn and stated his offer. "This is a one-time offer, Mister Chron, and I advise you to take it into consideration. I offer to adopt your son, and raise him as my own, educating him in my profession, whilst keeping him out of the reach of those who wish to take him away from you."
"Adopt my son?! Are you mad?"
"I'm offering you a way out Mister Chron," Vagos said, raising from the seat he'd been sitting in for the past few minutes. "I'd suggest you think about it." He walked towards the door, quite flexibly for his age. As he walked through the door, he looked over his shoulder, saying: "I'll be waiting in my spaceship till midnight. If your son isn't on board till then, I will take it that you've declined the offer."
He walked away, shouting loudly: "Make the right decision Mister Chron! You won't get an offer like this ever again!"
Ylo got up, closed the doors, feeling to be at a loss. He rested his head against the glass doors, sighing heavily. He got back to his desk, set down, resting his elbows on the desk hand his head on one hand, whilst holding the other hand above the intercom button. After a few seconds of hesitation, he finally pushed the button, requesting his wife and son to the office, as soon as they could. He then waited, figuring out how he was going to tell his wife and son, all that he was told by Vagos.
It took only a few minutes for his wife to show up, hurrying into his office, their son in tow. Both looked distressed, Ylio more than his mother, since he must have been suspecting it had something to do with the man he had run into. Ylo got up from behind his desk, leading his family through another set of doors into the garden where he knew he would have privacy, since it was forbidden for servants to enter that part of the garden.
He sat them down in that far corner of the garden and sat down near them, facing his wife and son. They sat there, silently, wife and son waiting for the father to say something, while the father gathered the courage he needed to tell what he needed to tell. But somehow, he couldn't get it over his lips, forcing his wife to get him to talk.
"Well, what is it?" she asked. "I take it you didn't scare us like this just to sit down here and be quiet for a few minutes…"
"Darling, I don't know how I have to say this…"
"Just say it as it is and be done with it," she rebuked, tapping her feet on the ground in a fast rhythm.
"A man came by, a few minutes ago, with distressing news," Ylo said. "It seems that our 'good' friend Jayn Organa came up with a scheme to cross our family for a final time. Yesterday, he sent out a message to Coruscant, informing a few people there of a secret we have tried to keep for such a long time."
"They know?" Mela, Ylo's wife, asked.
"They know."
Ylio knew exactly what his parents were talking about, since it involved him. To be more precise, he was the secret. Sure, House Organa knew of his existence, that wasn't the secret. What he could do, however, that was the secret. Ever since he was born, Ylio had showcased a certain aptitude for using the force. In effect, Ylo and Mela had his blood tested. The result, an extraordinary amount of midi-chlorians in his blood. Ylio, the hope of House Chron, was Force Sensitive, and quite the one too. His midi-chlorian count went over 15,000 a cell. And "they", Ylio also know who "they" were. The Jedi Order.
Now, in general, the Jedi Order would leave those be, who didn't wish to receive training, as it was a choice made out of free will. But the Organas had a lot of influence in the Jedi Council, even though Jedi should not be mixed up with politics. So, if Jayn Organa would press the Jedi Council to take him in as an apprentice, it would most likely happen. As his father always said, the Chron family had little to no influence outside of Mytoro, so it would be unlikely that his father would be able to do something about the entire ordeal, if it were to happen.
"Somehow, Jayn Organa figured out our secret," Ylo said. "Someone informed him –and I wil find out who, and he has sent the information to the Jedi Council, with a pressing note to take Ylio as an apprentice."
"I can't believe that after centuries, they still…"
"They want back what was given to us, Mela, but they can only get it back if we are unable to provide an heir. The Jedi aren't allowed to keep property, or marry, or to have children, which means that if they take Ylio away, not only will we lose our son, our family will also cease to exist."
"But dad, if they know already…" Ylio said, speaking for the first time after hearing everything.
"They will be here soon," Mela realized, knowingly finishing her son's sentence. "What will you do? We have nothing to avert this… Organa has too much influence and credits, and we have far too little."
"We ah… I did get an offer," Ylo answered. "Though, it will involve making a great sacrifice… and to be frank, I have a bad feeling about the offer, and more precisely, about the person making the offer."
"But it is a way out?" Mela asked. In response, her husband nodded.
"Then do it," she said, standing up and pacing away. "I don't want to hear anything more about it, just do it."
"You should listen to mum," Ylio said as Mela had disappeared out of sight.
"I don't think you're… It will…"
"Just tell me what I need to do," Ylio interrupted.
"You would need to spend a long time from home, a long time away from your mother and I."
"But I won't be…?"
"You won't."
"Then do it dad," Ylio said, more enthusiastic than sad, since it would mean that he finally was to leave Mytoro, and maybe even Alderaan. He was excited, and though his excitement upset his father, Ylio couldn't care less. He could only see adventure, even though he would have to miss his father and mother.
Ylo sighed. His wife and son were willing to do what, he had to admit that, needed to be done. He, however, wasn't. Even though he didn't want it to happen, he chose to tell Ylio Vagos' plan. He wouldn't do more than that, he couldn't take that final step, taking his son to Roh Vagos, sealing the deal. He couldn't let his son go, because he knew that there was a big chance he would never see him again.
"One final thing Ylio," Ylo said to his son. "I must give you something, something very important."
He took his son back to his office, where he took a small digital reader out of a drawer and handed it over to his son.
"This reader will be the evidence that you are our son, the heir to the Chron legacy. You must always keep it close to you, and never lose sight of it. If someone else were to get his hands on this, he could use it to become the new heir to everything we own. Do you understand?"
"Yeah dad, I'm not stupid you know…"
"Oh, I know you aren't. You're a brave lad, probably braver than I am or will ever be. Now hurry off to bed, alright?"
"Aren't you going to bring me to Mister Vagos?" Ylio asked.
"No son… I just can't… Now off with you, I… I don't want to hear anything about it anymore."
That night, Ylo and Mela woke up to the sound of the gate opening. Ylo jumped out of his bed and hurried to the nearest window providing view on the gate. In the distance, he saw a boy running into the village, a small sack on his back, towards the spaceship of Roh Vagos. He bit his lips, knowing that his son had taken the step he was not willing to make, based on prejudice of a man who offered him the way out of a nasty situation, preventing the downfall of the Chron family. A great emptiness overtook him and Ylo stumbled back to his bed. His wife didn't even ask, she knew.