I don't own anything except my joy of breaking hearts. I'm kidding. But still.
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After he was released from the Gargen hospital, Orson became extremely quiet, almost mute. He never wanted to speak to anyone outside his family. Ever. Again. He became even more antisocial than he already was, if that was possible. His parents tried to help him by getting a speech therapist, but even then Orson did minimal amount of speaking. So his mother tried practicing with him instead. Still no luck. Finally, they just let him do whatever he pleased.

Orson spent the majority of his time playing with his Legos. He made a mini figure that look more or less like him and Galen and then built sets to stage whatever events he wanted to do with Galen. He kept track of everything he roleplay played as a reference for what he wanted to do when he saw his friend—sorry, future husband—again. Orson would make up whatever dialogue he wanted, usually tuning it into a sappy, corny romance scene that sometimes made him gross himself out. But at least all the roleplays ended with Orson and Galen the mini figures making out. What he didn't know was how happy his parents were that he was using his voice. In two weeks time, his stammer was starting to disappear little by little. It wasn't noticeable to him but it was very noticeable to his mother and father.

Right now, Orson was pretending mini figure Galen and Orson were going for a speeder drive. Orson had supposedly just earned his speeder license and Galen was teaching him how to drive. In his fantasy, Orson pretended he picked up the driving skill almost immediately, but he knew in reality that would never happen. His father once let him drive a speeder when he was ten (not alone, unfortunately) and surprisingly, the humans came back in one piece. The same couldn't be said about the speeder.

His com suddenly beeped and Orson made a mad scramble for it, hoping it was Galen. Nope. Just a friend from school asking if he wanted to hang out. Orson groaned. He really wanted Galen to text him. Over the past week, he had been trying to contact Galen by either com calling him or texting. Usually it was the texting.

Orson: Galen, I wanted to check in on you. I hope you're doing well. Call me if you want to meet someday.

Orson: Galen, We could meet somewhere around halfway between Lexrul and Grange.

Orson: Hey Galen, do you have a new number? If so, I'd greatly like to know what it is so I can contact you.

Orson: Galen, I tried to call you the other day. I don't think it went through

Orson: Hi Galen! Just wanted to drop another hi! How are you?

Orson: Galen, how come you're not responding to my texts?

Orson: Galen..!

Orson: Galen..!

Orson: Galen..!

Orson: Galen..!

Orson threw his com link across the room and rested his head on his arms. Galen was probably going to kill him for the spam, but Orson wanted to know if Galen was okay. He really hoped Galen was alive. He had heard from a surgeon of some sort (he forgot what kind of sort) who had worked on Galen saying that the scientist had had severe frostbite and some compound bone fractures. The doctors at Gargen Hospital had to bring him to Coruscant Hospital because they didn't have the resources to treat Galen's condition.

Orson lay there for a minute, thinking. He then crawled across the room and retrieved his com. Orson texted Lyra. She may have heard something he didn't.

Orson: Lyra, this is Orson. Have u been able to get in contact with Galen? Because I can't

It took about ten minutes for her to reply.

Lyra: No. I was going to ask you the same question. I'm still in Bespin hospital.

Who uses periods at the end of their texts?

Orson: Do u think he's okay?

Lyra: I have no idea.

Orson: I'm worried about him

Lyra: I am too...

That was the end of their conversation. And it got him nowhere. Orson muttered angrily and went back to his Legos. He picked up the miniature him and Galen before wandering to his bed, when he lay down and stared blandly at the ceiling while his hands autonomously made the two figures kiss repeatedly.

An idea struck Orson and he jumped to his feet. He swiped his datapad off the table and typed in Galen Erso to the HoloNet. Maybe he could find out more about Galen this way! The first thing that popped up was some sort of profile of Galen. Orson clicked on it. There, smiling back, was a handsome picture of the man he loved. Galen's eyes were bright with enthusiasm and he had a toothy grin. He was holding something in his hand but the majority of the object was cropped out. Orson found himself flooded with uncontrollable happiness when he looked at the picture and he may have let out a small squeal. Galen was just so cute!

He skimmed the article. The article stated the obvious, what year Galen was born, what planet he was from, and his scientific interests. It had a brief Early Life section, which didn't include much except that he had always been interested in scientific research from a very, very young age. Occasionally, Galen's father would travel to other planets with his son so they could observe and experiment with different climates on each planet.

And then Orson saw something that made his heard nearly fly into him stomach. The section titled Awards. He scrolled through the section. He saw Galen had won an award last year for some of his work. He had been given the award by the Chancellor.

Galen had been awarded one of the highest honor awards in the galaxy at the age of 19 for a science experiment.

Orson realized he could never live up to Galen's standards and it made him sad. Maybe Galen was working on anther science project and that's why he hadn't been able to contact Orson. With a sigh, Orson pressed the back button and continued scrolling. There was a lot about Galen Erso. The scientist was Galaxy famous! Orson wished he was Galaxy famous. He wondered what Galen thought about it. It must be fun to be that famous.

He flopped down on his bed again, taking the datapad with him. Maybe Galen wasn't texting him because he wanted to end the relationship. Maybe Orson hadn't been able to live up to Galen's standards. It seemed the only logical thing. Was this really over? Were they broken up for good?

Or maybe Galen was just nose deep in another science project. That was probably it. Orson browsed the HoloNet for some more news about his future husband. Blah blah blah Galen is amazing blah blah Galen Galen Galen blah blah blah Galen won award lalalala Galen in double accident blah blah blah Galen is hot lalalalalala...

Orson stopped and went back to the accident article. It was a short article. But it explained the Ilum Incident and how Galen had received severe leg damage. Then it went on to saying he was released from the hospital and his mother came to pick him up. Their speeder was hit by a drunk driver and Galen's mother was killed. Galen was injured again and sent to another hospital. Then the article ended with 'Erso is still critical condition.'

Orson felt sick in his stomach. He wanted to cry but what good would that do? Suddenly, his speech problem didn't seem like a big deal at all. He hoped Galen wouldn't die. Why? Why couldn't this have happened to him? Why Galen? WHAT DID GALEN EVER DO TO THE GALAXY!??? Orson wished he had been the one to suffer this all. Poor Galen! Orson wanted to run to the hospital Galen was staying at and give him a big hug.

He suddenly heard his bedroom door open. "Orson?" Orson looked up and saw his father. "Everything okay?"

"Y-yeah... why?"

"You were screaming 'It isn't fair!' Your Mom and I worried about you."

"I... I just..." and then Orson couldn't stop himself. The tears came out like waterfalls, accompanied by pitiful sobs.

Erikzen hugged his son. Orson cried into his father's shoulder, wishing he could turn back time and save Galen from all this pain. He wished he could save the whole mission by never using that crystal. The whole incident was his fault! And because of his stupidity, Talise, Zinno, Miyah, and Oraki were dead while Galen and Lyra had suffered the aftereffects. Orson knew he would sacrifice his life to change the outcome of the entire expedition. If only he could be given the chance to do so. If he was able to, he wouldn't hesitate to take the offer. Anything to let six young scientists live their lives to the fullest. Anything to make Galen healthy and happy.
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Kind of an emotional chapter. I promise the next one will be a little happier.

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