NO THRAWN IN THIS CHAPTER. He is still on Ryloth and will return in a few chapters.

Draco was seated in the chair next to his son's adjustable hospital bed, who was sleeping fitfully occasionally calling out to his mother. It tore through his heart hearing his son call out to her. And even though the Muggle doctors had assured him that they did the best for his son, he still worried that he might lose him, and he really did not want to bury another family member. Draco hated being as helpless as that. Unable to help his son. His parents had stayed with him as support, displaying equal worry and extreme discomfort as they were far out of their depth in the Muggle World, but they had been forced to return home before curfew or to hide in the bunker if they could not make it back home. It had taken them quite aback hearing that the Muggle World was living with that. The way he had understood, the bunker was something the hospital offered under the very noses of the Empire and could get them in serious trouble.

He was faring a bit better as he had some experience in the Muggle world due to … well, his connection with Harry, but curfew still made his stomach churn. As he was the father of Scorpius, they allowed him to stay with him in his room. And even then, he would have found a way to stay with his son. There was absolutely no way that he would leave him here unprotected and unsupervised when he had no idea what else the Empire was enforcing. And yet he had never been in a Muggle hospital before, so he had no idea how much the empire had changed. It was both familiar and yet completely foreign. St. Mungo's appeared out of date in contrast to this one here: Pale walls, different plug-ins for all kinds of equipment, fluorescent lighting, a whiteboard with his son's specific patient information written on it, boxes of gloves in holders on the wall, a large window with blinds, which blocked his sight from the raging cold storm outside, a bathroom consisting a small sink area, a shower with safety bars and a toilet). There were square screens in every waiting room displaying not the BBC, but an Imperial broadcast. Sometimes even in a language that he did not understand. There was even a TV set on the wall in this hospital room, but he had turned it off. A small closet, a small table and two chairs, one on which Draco sat. The other was still next to the table.

He brushed his right hand over his son's fine hair, who stirred and leaned closer to him. The physicians had tested his son for all kinds of things and when they had heard that Scorpius had none of the vaccines that Muggle children at his age should have received already, they had given him the scolding of his life. Never had he felt ire like that from professionals. His ears still hurt.

"Now, with the Imperial occupation, it is even more critical to have all the necessary vaccines as the imperials could bring new germs and viruses to our planet that we have no protection from." One of the more controlled doctors had explained to him. Apparently, there already was some evidence that their conquerors had brought new diseases with them.

Additionally, to that, they had quickly isolated his son from the rest of the hospital in this room and taken blood samples from Scorpius, Draco, and his parents. To check if they had enough immunity and if not also required immunization. The chief physician had told them that if they required immunization, which he suspected, then they would work out a plan for them to catch up with their shots. If the situation had not been as dire for him, he might have found some humour in his parents' discomfort. His father had flinched when he had heard the "term" shot. His mother had turned pale at the thought of needles puncturing her skin. Yet, thankfully they had followed his example. But exceedingly reluctantly.

A soft knock on the door made them look up. It was late, way past curfew, the nurses or doctors doing their rounds was long over and there were not many people in the hospital. He reluctantly turned towards the door when he spotted Tonks sneaking through it. Today she almost looked normal. If he did not know any better, he would say that she could pass as an average muggle.

She greeted him with a nod, but Draco could not stop himself. "What are you doing here? It's past curfew. Did you know that the Muggle world has a curfew?" She nodded.

"Certain Aurors have special permission from Kingsley to go out into the Muggle World. Prerequisites were NEWTS in Muggle studies, and we have monthly briefings that informs us about the latest developments," she informs him. Draco's jaw dropped. He had known Kingsley's stance which was in favour of aiding the Muggle world and not secluding themselves from them, but that the Minister of Magic actively working against current law was something new. He risked re-election if that were found out. On the other hand, there was nobody else who could take his place as Minister of Magic right now.

"And I told you that in confidence, Draco," Tonks told him sternly. "The Wizarding World can't survive without the Muggle world. We are already too depended on it. So, how is Scorpius?"

With a back glance at his son, he nodded in understanding. "As well as can be expected. You were right. He has influenza. They told me that they would keep him for tonight and gave him, he looked at his son's documentation: "Ace…Acetaminophen to help lessen body aches and fever, some cough medicine and an anti-viral medicine… that I can't even begin to pronounce. Who thinks about names like that for medicine?" he shook his head.

Tonks laughed. "I asked the exact same thing once. Harry told me that doctors in the Muggle world usually note down the chemical names and not the brand names containing the medicine as they could lead to confusion, though I have no idea what the point is exactly."

"I always assumed that we wizards are immune to the common flue," Draco told her earnestly.

Tonks rolled her eyes. "That is the Wizarding prejudice talking, I'm afraid. First, the common cold is not the flu. The flue is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses that infect the nose, throat, and sometimes the lungs. It can cause mild to severe illness, and at times can lead to death. The best way to prevent flu is by getting a flu vaccine each year. And we wizards are just as susceptible to it."

"You just sounded like one of the physicians," Draco remarked wondering how much more he had missed not taking Muggle studies, but Tonks just shrugged. "Not really, I just happen to know the right people who explain Muggle things in such a way that even I can understand it."

"So, you Teddy didn't get ill because you had him vaccinated?" Draco inquired and Tonks nodded again. "Yes, well I mean I was sceptical at first when his godmother suggested it because I also believed that we wizard didn't need to. But Harry correctly told me that there were no studies to actually prove that point. And the only statement our opinion was based on goes back to a wizard of the sixteenth century."

His heart clenched again. Of course, it had been Harry. Who else would have been brave enough to question the status quo? "And did it work? Are the vaccines working?" he inquired processing the information. If they did, then he would make sure that

Tonks pointed to Scorpius. "Q.E.D. Teddy was feeling a bit tired the last few days, but apart from this, there was nothing. The fact that your son contracted Influenza can only mean that the vaccine worked for Teddy, because where else should Scorpius have contracted it from. I mean sure, the vaccine doesn't always work for everyone as the virus strains keep changing each year, but the vaccines always contain three to four Influenza strains that are most commonly found. And if you happen to catch a strain that is not in the vaccine, then your immune system still recognizes that it is an influenza strain if you got your shots annually and starts with the immune reaction. That leads to a much better outcome than not getting vaccinated at all."

She frowned. "I did lose you somewhere during the explanation, did I?" she remarked at Draco's gaping expression who nodded hesitantly. "You lost me at strains, actually. Everything else just sounded gibberish to me."

"Sorry, it's just we have access to Harry's libraries and do make use of it frequently. I mean she kept all her books and notes from school, and they are a fascinating read."

He gaped at her. "To all her libraries? So, you have access to her houses?" The wheels in his mind were turning, but Tonks, knowing him all too well, dashed any hopes.

"No, I only have access to her library in her house in Cardiff and to the one in the Widow's manor, well Harry's manor now and to an illegal online library she has helped to build with others from all corners of the earth," she told him. " I could get you a few introductory books, but Dobby is probably going to read me the riot act for doing that as you have no permission to enter her premises after…" she wrung her hands "you know."

Draco exhaled slowly, brushing his hand over his son's cheek. The fever was finally going down, he was not burning up anymore. So, their medicine was finally working. "I know I made mistakes, Tonks." he acknowledged with heavy heart, "but she is too far away to set it right now. And even if I could apologize from the bottom of my heart, you know how her mind works. She will never be able to forget or to forgive.

"Yep, you screwed up. Big time." Tonks agreed plopping down at the second chair in the room. "Don't look at me like that. You won't get any sympathy from me for that, cousin. In fact, I wanted to rip you to shreds back then, or curse you into oblivion."

He leaned back crossing his arms. "What stopped you?" Tonks could easily have done a lot of harm to him and his family, had she truly unleashed her fury. Her Black origin could not be denied.

"Harry survived and giving me another purpose," Tonks told him gravely. Draco felt coldness expanding from his core, his heartbeat accelerating. Nausea was washing over him. Another thing he had missed. 'survived'? Survived what? What happened? He wanted to ask, but no words came out.

"Her son didn't or rather, he was already cold when they found her." Tonks continued gruffly. "There was nothing that they could do. Harry was a different matter, however."

Draco fought the bilge down. He had lost a son. No, they had lost a son. Scorpius had lost a brother and he had not been there for her. And he had left her alone to fend for herself. He should have... No wonder Tonks had been ready to murder him and yet it still didn't explain why Tonks hadn't cursed him.

"What happened?" he asked hoarsely not able to produce a stronger voice.

"We don't know. Officially, she had an accident, but there are more than enough people doubting that version of events. We just can't prove it, because the Ministry deemed it 'out of our jurisdiction'. The fact that she can't remember what happened makes me believe that somebody erased her memories." Tonks told him with blazing eyes, her voice hard.

"What kind of accident?" Draco asked, with stronger voice this time. She could not remember?! But Harry remembered everything. Every moment of her life. The fact that she could not remember what had happened gave credence to Tonks' suspicions. He clenched his hand, feeling his heartbeat in his throat. He truly was a monster.

"The authorities believed that she had fallen down the stairs, hit her head and given birth. They assumed that the boy was stillborn anyway. She had a broken rip and diagnosed moderate traumatic brain injury. The only problem was that she did not wake for almost one and a half weeks. She remained in ICU a few floors down.

"Wait, here. In this hospital?" Draco queried his heart plumbed and his cousin nodded.

"Yes. It was touch and go for a while and when she finally came out of her coma, she already was a shadow of herself, completely and utterly confused. Not being able to make sense of what has happened, what day it was. Waking only to find that the son she had carried under her heart for months was not there anymore. In her confusion, she kept talking stuff like she could still feel him. Harry was convinced that he was still alive. We had to take her down to the morgue and show her the deformed body of her baby." Tonks shook with emotion in remembrance. Draco felt his fear grow. Had one of his previous associated done this to her? Had it been an accident? He had not been there for her when she had needed him most.

"Wait. Her son was deformed?" Draco inquired holding his breath. All the pre-natal screen pictures he had seen, had shown a healthy baby. At least that's what Harry had told him, and she had a medical degree. "But that doesn't make any sense. Everything looked fine in the screenings."

Tonks nodded folding her hands and continued: "He had club feet, cleft palate, and a critical congenital cardiovascular malformation. As you can imagine not a pretty sight and until she reached the acceptance stage, she was researching changelings because she could not make head or tails of it.

"And then came your betrayal in plain old Slytherin fashion and refusal to speak to her crushing her heart completely. So, I was ready to murder you during your honeymoon…"

"I had no honeymoon." Draco interrupted her but knew how petulant he sounded. For years he had dreamed to have one with her, but he had screwed up. He was the monster, he never had wanted to be.

"But Remus stopped me and convinced me that starting a family feud would not end well and put innocents (she pointed at Scorpius) at risk. " Draco stared at her. There was more to it. He could read it on her face and she also had Black heritage. There was no way that she would let this go. And whatever happened. He owed it to his former love to find out what had happened. He would never get her back. That ship had sailed with his betrayal.

"Emotion, peace." Scorpius suddenly murmured causing his father's head to snap back towards him in worry.

"What are you saying? Tonks what did he say?" he asked with concern creeping back in his voice. His son was speaking in strange tongues. But Tonks shrugged putting her head to the side listening.

"Ignorance, knowledge." his son continued. "Passion, serenity, Chaos, harmony, Death, the Force."

"Tonks, do you know what he is saying? What language is that?!" he asked her, his hands shaking.

His cousin locked eyes with him. "He's speaking Basic. The language the Empire is trying to teach our planet. I'm not proficient enough yet, Petunia is teaching me, but I could understand "Ignorance, knowledge and harmony. He had an eventful day. Scorpius is probably just processing some words he has picked up from the screens outside. Don't worry."

"There is no emotion, there is peace.

There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.

There is no passion, there is serenity.

There is no chaos, there is harmony.

There is no death, there is the Force."

Neville was exhausted, fighting to keep his eyelids open after working hard to hide her bouts of accidental magic. They should not have happened at her age. She technically should have learnt to get them under control. After all, she had been forced to go to Hogwarts for three years. But her magic had always seemed capricious. Whatever his brother and his friends, Neville included had tried to make her trip up, it had never worked. She had always been able to sense it. No, she had known it beforehand or always known where her brother had been. Now as he reflected upon it, perhaps she could have gotten her magical outbursts under control had she not been forced to fight her own family for attention and had they actually given her the chance to get them under control with a proper tutor.

While the rest of his squad had gone back to their barracks to get some rest, he had stayed behind to make sure that she would not cause more chaos until she would wake up or until he had to get ready for duty again. But he would have one hell of a shift. The Medical droid had finally told him that her fever was slowly receding. But know she had suddenly started to murmur a strange mantra, poem, song, or whatever that was. He had no idea what her feverish brain was cooking up at the moment. Once or twice she had interrupted it, claiming that it made no sense and it had seemed as if she was discussing it with someone, but resumed it again shortly.

"How is she doing?" a gentle voice next to him made him jump. Had he just nodded off? It had felt that way. His gaze was drawn to a young familiar female with brown hair and kind eyes standing next to him. "The Medical Droid, the one that didn't break down, said that she's reached her peak a few hours. Her fever is going down slowly, but she seems to continue to suffer from her fever dreams," he told her wondering who the young woman was. He had to have seen her somewhere, but he could not remember.

"That's good to hear," she remarked in relieve. "Is she reciting…? No, it can't be."

"Wait, you know what she's reciting?" Neville inquired. Perhaps he could understand Potter a bit better knowing what she was babbling about, but the young woman now changed her mind and shook her head.

"No, no, I just thought she was reciting an old poem that friends of our former Queen and Senator recited, but I guess I was wrong." She wrung her hands. To Neville, it seemed as if she had indeed recognized it and now lied about knowing it for some reason. He had to find out why.

"I knew something was wrong when Harry didn't come to visit me as usual. I mean, she is the one person I can rely on to visit me here." So, she was not part of the medical personnel. Then it hit him. How could he have forgotten that face! That was Baila Panaká. The young woman he had helped to save. Clearly, he had missed too much sleep, or he would have recognized her immediately.

"Yes, she tends to be reliable, but only when she wants to be." he sighed rubbing his eyes. "Anyway, it's been months since the attack on your life and you are still cooped up in here?"

Baila shortly locked eyes with him and nodded. "I'm surprised, that I wasn't dismissed from service yet. Usually, the Empire is quick to get rid of deadwood. I mean, I want to work again, do my duty, but I'm so jumpy and whenever I see a certain type of uniform, I just freeze. I can't help it. I've truly become useless." she lamented.

"Bullshit." Neville shook his head vehemently and Baila's eyes widened. "You are NOT useless. Seriously, do not tell yourself that. You had a brush with death." He remembered the moment he had kept her in magical stasis, with her on the floor, until Harry had come back with her bezoar. Each heartbeat had felt like an eternity. Fear that he would be discovered and killed had mixed with his anxiety to lose focus of his magic and cause this innocent young woman to die at his hands." Neville gulped. "An ISB-officer kidnapped you and almost killed you. Your ordeal isn't something that one just can brush off and continue as if nothing happened. Healing from that takes time. But that does not diminish your worth for society…I mean for the empire."

Baila grimaced and gestured towards Harry. "You're from the same planet, aren't you?" Neville acknowledged it with a nod.

"I mean you are both compassionate and you certainly don't act like a stormtrooper," she stated clipped.

Neville stood up suppressing a groan when his heavy limbs protested. "But I am a Stormtrooper. Conscripted one, but still a Stormtrooper. What gives you the idea that I don't act like a stormtrooper."

Baila put her head to her side and grinned at him. It was unnerving. "What's your name trooper?"

"Neville Longbottom why?" he frowned, but she continued to smirk as if he had just fallen into her trap and clarified. "You retained your personality. Normal troopers usually only remember their operating numbers and sometimes their name when you continue to pester them. The empire prides itself in stripping them down and building them up again to be perfect soldiers. Minus their own self of course."

Now he could not hold back his own grin. Was she praising him? Could she remember that he had been the one helping Harry when her life had been slipping away? They had certainly tried to strip them down, but they certainly had not counted in the fact that many countries on earth favoured individuality and they had reminded each other of who they were. He leaned forward and whispered with a humorous glint in his eyes. "That's dangerous talk, Miss Panaká."

But the young woman just shrugged stepping closer to him. "Yes, and what exactly are you going to do Trooper Longbottom?" she challenged good-heartedly.

"Kiss you probably if you take another step forward to him." a voice croaked from behind them, drawing their attention to a fatigued Harry, who the Medical droid was fussing over, the Chief Medical Officer in tow.

Well, the whole fever fiasco had thrown a spanner into her the wheels, but now that she had been finally discharged from the med bay, it was time to make the best of Thrawn's absence. Even though she still felt a bit wobbly on her feet. Teasing Longbottom and bringing a grin to Baila's face a rotation earlier had felt good and Baila certainly needed more friends than her on the Chimera, if she wanted to get back to her job. The memory of her strange dreams still lurked in the back of her mind. It had felt so real, but it couldn't have been. It must have been the fever playing tricks on her. And what that man, ghost, Jedi had made her recite, did not make any sense at all. Harry shook her head. Time to get back to reality.

Now, unfortunately, to use Thrawn's absence to her advantage, that meant cajoling Commander Faro into letting her take Longbottom's squad and recover Kallus' escape pod. Back in her uniform, she was contemplating how to best persuade her commander. It was of utmost importance to her, to get Thrawn's trust back and a mission to recover the pod could be just that. At least she hoped that it would gain her some trust back.

Her stomach dropped when she was allowed to enter Faro's office. The elder woman's stern gaze was gliding critically over her uniform, but Harry had taken extra care to leave it in impeccable shape.

"I see that you have recovered Lieutenant," she remarked matter-of-factly.

"Yes, Mam." she acknowledged calmly squaring her shoulders, locking her hands behind her back."

Looking up from her datapad, the officer continued: "So, let me get this straight. You ask me to greenlight an expedition to recover an escape pod from a moon in the Arkanis sector." Commander Faro inquired locking her strict gaze with Harry's.

"I wouldn't ask for your permission, Ma'am if it weren't important," Harry told her meeting her gaze squarely. "I'm very well aware of the expense to recover this one single pod, the fact that the Chimera will have one less shuttle during that mission, but I also did send you the report, that might help us shed some light into the dealings we had with this rebel cell."

"Mh." her superior muttered unimpressed. "Why did you request Sergeant Othello's squad? There are other Squads that could be used."

"I don't know any Troopers from other Squads personally. So, I can't trust them to have my back should we have run-ins with insurgents." Harry clarified thinking about possible scenarios where their magic could be useful for the recovery.

Faro was raising her eyebrow. She still was unconvinced, and Harry continued forcing herself to stay calm. Technically, she had also divulged that she didn't have trust in any other squads even though the empire expected it from her.

"Sergeant Othello is eager to prove himself, his squad does perform far better than most of our squads and they have the necessary qualifications to undertake this mission."

"So, in other words you want to take the best available squad from the Chimera with you." Faro was baiting her now and Harry thought hard not to fall for it.

"Well, no. As I said, his squad performs far better than most of our squads. So there are still better ones, but I don't know any of them personally."

"Well, then I suggest you familiarize with them, Lieutenant," Faro remarked strictly.

Perhaps, she should try to appease her a bit more. This entire conversation was getting out of her hands. "I shall endeavour to do so, Ma'am," she promised flatly.

"Good." Commander Faro concurred. "But then there is only one other issue."

"Which is, Ma'am?" Harry asked feigning ignorance, assuming to know exactly what Faro would refer to. She had hoped that it might slip her notice, but unfortunately, it did not work.

"It might have slipped your mind. But you were put on light-duty, Lieutenant," she informed her grimly, and Harry cursed. It had not slipped her mind, but she felt fine. Well, nothing that a hearty meal would not solve, and she had to complete this mission before Thrawn could get back from Ryloth. She nodded in understanding but would not let this go. This was her chance of trying to regain Thrawn's trust.

"Well, it's accurate that I was put on 'light duty', but as much as the Empire loves to drown us in mountains of terminology the term 'light duty' is not clearly defined and has various meanings." Faro bit her lips.

"The most common definition of light-duty refers to work that is physically or mentally less demanding than regular duties on a temporary or permanent basis. Sometimes the empire refers to the term 'light duty' when an imperial is exempt from performing job functions that they are unable to perform because of a disability. Although most imperials with an acquired disability are mostly discharged and to left to fend for their own." Harry could not help but feel unease trying to gauge Faro's emotions, but it was not particularly easy as her commanding officer did certainly not have the emotional range of a teaspoon. She could detect surprise, slight annoyance and if she was not mistaken a waft of amusement.

Harry continued citing parts of the imperial Handbook: "'Light-duty' may also consist of particular positions that are less physically straining or mentally demanding, that were positions created explicitly to provide alternative work for injured imperials who, often have a physical or mental disability, or are unable to perform some or all routine duties. But again, as the Empire considers certain types of physical or mental disabilities as a weakness, those affected are commonly discharged from their duty."

Faro curled her lips. "And now you're drowning me in citations. What exactly is the point of your lecture, Lieutenant?" she asked crossing her arms.

"The point I'm trying to make is that my normal position has, yet not been that physically challenging, discounting my early morning physical training of course, that I require more rest or be put on light duty. Light duty, would be a mind-numbing, unproductive exercise and the idea alone to be confined to my quarters, without being allowed to work at full capacity is torture."

The elder woman snorted and took a step back, measuring her words carefully. "According to your logic, your current position as Grand Admiral Thrawn's aide is not physically demanding enough and you believe that after you've just recovered from a heavy fever, merely a rotation ago, that you are fit enough to undertake a mission that is potentially physically far more demanding than your day-to-day missions."

Well, if she put it that way. Harry mentally cursed. Thrawn definitely knew how to pick his officers. Faro was astute. But she would not give in.

"I don't think that this mission will turn out to be more physically demanding," Harry answered biting her lips. We have the original trajectory of the escape pod when it was activated from the construction manual. Additionally, we also have the exact location from where the signal beacon was first detected and where Agent Kallus was found. The vector from the position of the first detection of the signal to Agent Kallus position is barely over half an imperial mile. Considering the difficult weather conditions, we can surmise that the escape pod can be found in proximity. Furthermore, the current weather conditions on Geonosis moon are far more favourable at the moment and the recovery of the pod should, therefore, be much easier."

Faro sighed. "Alright, as you are so certain, that this should be an easy recovery mission, talk me through the steps on how to proceed from the Chimera to Bahryn." She almost had her. Now she had to convince her properly. Harry nodded eagerly.

"From the Chimaera, we'd take a shuttle and reconvene with the light cruiser under Lieutenant Liszt's command who is doing a supply run for the Imperial factory on Lothal to Arkanis and back. We detach the shuttle once we reach the sector and scan the suspected area on Bahryn where the escape pod should have landed. Once, we've located it, we touch down, find and extract it. Then we return to the Chimera. If we manage everything in time to reconvene with the light cruiser, we could save fuel. If not, then the shuttle will do." Harry had kept the plan deliberately vague, but she did have a plan.

Commander Faro pursed her lips in contemplation. She felt indecisive and Harry wondered what else she could say to convince her.

"I can see that you did give this a good deal of thought." she began. "And the Grand Admiral did warn me that you would come to me with this request." Harry just caught herself in the nick of time to not show her annoyance. Of course, the Chiss had warned her. "But he also told me that the decision would lie with me. But I cannot with good conscience authorize a mission led by a junior officer, who defeated a fever attack less than a rotation ago."

"Ma'am, I understand that you are hesitant, about authorizing the mission, but I can assure you that I'm fit enough to see it through." Harry tried to convince her one more time, but Faro stopped her.

"You are pale like a Coruscanti sheet right now and I doubt that it is the fluorescent lightening in my office. The escape pod isn't going anywhere. You will continue with light-duty for two more rotations and then I will re-evaluate your proposal. Dismissed Lieutenant."

Looking forward to your comments.