Since Galen had not made a physical appearance in Orson's life yet, I'm going to do the switch chapter with Lyra. Because why not?

Also, I'm going quite a bit off canon (Catalyst canon) so I'm sorry if that bothers you. (Of course if you've made it this far, you already know that).

I don't own anything.
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Lyra was released from the hospital early, considering how severe the accident had been. She had fallen on the back of her head, and even though her head hurt like hell from her concussion, the only injury she suffered were a few deep cuts from ice pieces. But the permanent damage was the memory of the incident and the fact she was blind in her left eye now.

While at the hospital, Lyra learned to coordinate her body and grow used to the fact she couldn't see past her nose. It was weird and sometime she felt like she was walking on uneven ground. She even found it hard to look at anything electronic for a while, using her com only to text Orson back when he asked about Galen.

When she was released, Lyra used her remaining credits from her pocket to buy a bus fare back to Aria Prime. She had nowhere else to go except home, though she didn't really want to go back. She hated her parents and they seemed to hate her. She had even been told she should have been a boy, though Lyra proved more than capable of taking a boy's position. Growing up, she was forced to become the housewife (or house child), hunter, and caretaker for her parents.

As she sat on the bus, she recalled when she first learned about scientific research. It was on one of her hunting trips when she was about six. She ran across a boy and his father. They were examining the ground and Lyra thought they were tracking animals. It turned out they were just staring at the plants. Somehow, she got into a conversation with them, and the next thing she knew, she was learning all about the wonders of a flower, known as a chrysanthemum. That was Lyra's first introduction to an education and it never left her.

She never found out the name of that man and boy. She had never asked and they never asked her. But Lyra had always hoped one day she would see them again.

Lyra arrived at her home. She sighed and began muttering to herself. "The Force will guide you. Trust the Force." She had learned about the Force from her father and though he called it a hoax, she believed it could help her. Lyra stopped talking and pushed open the door. "Mama! Papa! I'm home!" Her heart dropped when she saw the empty bottles of liquor scattered across the floor.

"About time you came back!" Snapped her mother. "Come in here, child!" Lyra did obediently. "Take this." She shoved some dirty dishes into Lyra's hands. "Get those cleaned up and then tell us about Rudrig."

Lyra went to the sink (which apparently had not been cleaned since she last saw it nine months ago). She began washing the dishes quietly. Her father then stumbled into the room, his body reeking of alcohol. A bottle of whisky was in his hand "I got the bill for school the other day." He sounded like he had had five too many drinks.

"I sure as hell hope it wasn't big," her mother yelled from her rocking chair.

"Oh it was Kriffing big. It's not even from Rudrig." Lyra felt her body stiffen and she couldn't move. The cup on her hand dropped into the sink.

"So ye slack off school, child?" Her mother shouted.

"Not it was from that Kriffing Republic's Program." Her father took a swig of whatever was left in the bottle and set it down on the counter.

Her mother got up and stormed into the kitchen. "You went to the Republic's Program!?" She snapped. "We told you that option was forbidden!"

"I'll pay back the fee it took!" Lyra said quickly but her parents wouldn't hear anything of it.

"Lyra Meriva! Ye have disobeyed us again!" Her father seized the nearest hard item he could find, which turned out to be the liquor bottle.

Lyra dropped the dishes and tried to run but it was too late. Her father was on her left side in an instant and knocked her down. "Mama! Please!l" Lyra screamed. She tried to fight her father but he was always stronger than her and she found herself unable to move.

"You know such rebellious actions come with consequences," her mother said.

"No! Please! Papa! Mama!" Lyra filled the air with screams for mercy. "NOOO!!"
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She spent the night staring out the window, struggling to pick the glass out of her open wounds. It proved to be a much harder task without access to tweezers. Lyra eventually stopped trying because she was just inflaming the wounds.

She watched the stars slowly crawl across the sky. 'I'm gonna die in this household,' she thought. 'I'm gonna die on this planet. Alone.' She bit her lip to hold back tears. She wanted to run and hide but she had nowhere to go. She didn't even known how to drive a ship on her own.

Lyra found herself steeling her eyes on her electro how in the corner of her room. The bow was old. It had broken a few times but was always fixed with some tree sap or any other substitute for glue. Extensions had been added on for every time she grew too big for the previous state. But it was still as good as it had always been.

"What was it like to be free? To never have to come back home? To have a place that felt safe every moment you stand in it?" Lyra whispered. She doubted she'd ever feel that way. There was no escaping. Even at the Republic's Futures Program, she had been neurotic. She feared her parents would come after her.

She thought about Orson next. He was a bright boy. He may not have a sense of non-obsessive romance but that didn't take anything away from the way his mind worked. Even though she knocked him over quite a bit, she enjoyed his company. She never intended to hurt him. Every time she hit him or knocked him over, she cursed herself and tried thousands of tricks to make her stop. Nothing had worked. Lyra admired the fact he continued to smile at her and try to become friends with her despite how many times he had been pushed down.

What would Orson do in her situation? Probably manipulate his parents to do what he wanted.

She thought about Galen next. Truth be told, she had always liked Galen as a friend. He was passionate and dedicated to his work. He didn't get angry easily and though he was bullied quite a bit, he found ways to break the odds against him. To be fair, he was almost the complete opposite of her. Yet somehow, he got along so well with her.

Lyra hated to admit it, but she liked Galen beyond a friend. However she wasn't about to step in on the romance between him and Orson. She didn't think Orson was the kind of person Galen would want as a soulmate but Galen might have a side she had never seen. She wished she remembered what it was like being drunk and having sex with Galen. She must have had too many drinks because there wasn't a single bit of the memory left except for the massive hangover and realizing she was in the same bed as the scientist.

She just hoped she'd find someone as good as Galen to satisfy her longing for someone to love.

What would Galen do in this situation?

Lyra focused on her bow one more time. And then something came over her. She was getting out of here. She jumped up and packed some of her most precious items (which wasn't much), seized her electro bow, and emptied her stash of credits. She had just enough to make it to the Outer Rim, maybe further. She was never coming back. She was never going to return to Aria Prime again.
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Orson woke up the next morning and headed down to the nearest diner. He bought some breakfast then went to Galen's room and knocked on the door.

The scientist opened it. "Good morning, Galen," Orson said, a small blush creeping up his cheeks. Galen was shirtless and he looked like he just woke up. Even though Galen lacked any signs of abs, Orson still found him rather attractive. "I brought you some breakfast."

Galen nodded. "Thank you, Krennic," he said in his quiet and tired voice. He took the tray from Krennic.

"How are the plans coming along?" Orson stammered. Why was he like this around Galen?

"They're going along well. Rest assured." Galen began to shut the door but Orson jabbed his foot in the way. This made the scientist look up with confused expression. "Krennic?"

Orson didn't know why he had stopped the door. He didn't even know what to say to Galen! Their years of friendship had been torn apart and now it felt awkward to even try and say anything. Orson wished he could just kiss Galen and everything would be better.

"Is there something you want, Krennic?" Galen asked.

Orson realized he had been staring at Galen too long. "No," he whispered. "No. Nothing." He removed his foot and let the door shut in front of him. It was then Orson realized he had wanted to tell Galen about how much he missed him and how much he longed to be what they used to be; lovers.
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Hey, hey, hey, I'm back in business, baby! And with a bunch of fresh ideas! This is gonna be fun! I just hope the flow of the story works well.

Anyway, please review!