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At that moment, he broke through the upper atmosphere and the nighttime skyline of Ylore appeared on the screen. Jack was taken aback for a moment. His breath caught in his throat and his chest felt tight. That sense of returning home was so strong that he could almost taste it. What would it taste like? He didn’t know, but he thought it wouldn’t be a taste he’d experienced before. Yet he’d know it. He’d know it down to his bones.

The architecture was clearly alien though he did see familiar domes, towers, bridges and skyscrapers. But there was an alien hand behind it. Something that spoke to him of other minds bringing this city to life. There were lush areas of forest that wound through the city itself, unlike the parks in human cities. He saw vast waterways surrounding buildings and trees as if making islands of them in the city itself. The sun had set, but there wasn’t the harsh white-blue lights on in the myriad of structures, but instead a warm, amber-red glow that was more like firelight and soothed the eyes.

He found himself simply flying above the city and not caring where the landing point was. Though it was flashing in increasingly large letters on his screen as if the Osiris wasn’t quite sure he saw it. He snorted.

You need to admit the truth, the Osiris said in a very non-AI way, that you and your mate chose to separate in order to protect her from danger! Even if there are more valid reasons this was the one that motivated you both.

“No, it didn’t.”

That is a lie. Your vitals–

“All this monitoring must be exhausting.” Jack frowned at the blinking cursor. “Osiris, why does it matter to you so much why Diane and I determined this course of action? Do you not agree with it? Do you wish her to be part of the crew? Is–is Jace unhappy with it?”

That last one was the most likely. Why else would the Osiris be concerned about this? It had to be something to do with how it was affecting Jace. Was his son not convinced that his mother should remain on Haseon and represent humanity? Had the battle made Jace feel–much like Dai–that it was better if they were all together?

He licked his lips and said, “You are correct that the reason Diane and I are not both members of the Osiris crew is due to the danger it poses with us all three being together.”

You admit the truth! You fear you will be affected by her loss and will abandon the mission–

“No, we fear what losing both parents will do to Jace,” Jack cut in. “If Diane is here on Haseon and I am with Jace on the Osiris, the loss of both of us is unlikely to happen at once. So Jace will still have one parent left no matter what.”

The cursor blinked.

The Pilot would be emotionally compromised by losing you both, The Osiris seemed alarmed at this. No exclamation points, but there was something more human in its speech. He wondered why.

“He would be. And so we are not going to put ourselves in the position of Jace losing both of his parents at the same time,” Jack answered softly. “Diane and I are… devoted to one another. And losing her would gut me. It would do the same to her. But we don’t just live for each other. We live for Jace too. And neither of us would abandon him. Not even to our grief.”

Would the Pilot similarly choose to continue if you were alive, but his mate was not? The Osiris asked.

“Again, Osiris, humans don’t have mates.” Jack shook his head. “But I think that Jace would continue because it's the right thing to do and others are counting on him. That’s who Jace is. You don’t have to worry about the loss of a mate should Jace even start dating.”

At that moment, Jace’s face appeared on the screen before him. His son’s eyes were bright. The smile on his face was the biggest that Jack had ever seen. His son was glowing with happiness and while this made him happy too, it worried him based upon what the Osiris was saying.

“Dad!” his son beamed. “Taking the scenic route?”

“Finally getting to fly a little more. So I can’t help myself,” Jack admitted.

“Well, please land!” Jace laughed. Bright. Beaming. Bursting with happiness. “Khoth and I are ready to pick you up and take you to the Compound.”

Jack swallowed. “You’re really intent on telling me your news, aren’t you?”

Jace ducked his head and blushed. Jack’s stomach flipped. He looked up at his father almost shyly as he answered, “I am. I can’t wait.”

But Jack suddenly wished he would.

Genetic Memory

“You are pacing, Izail,” Khoth remarked as he watched Jace pace in a tight line in front of the canceaux.

“I know! But it’s my dad!” Jace stopped pacing and gestured towards the lights of the fast approaching drop ship. “And I’m going to tell him we’re mated! He knows you. He approves of you, of course. And things went great with my mom, but–”

“You fear he will not approve of the mating?” Khoth’s adorable right eyebrow lifted.

Jace went over and smoothed it back down. “He will approve. I think he’ll just be disappointed until I tell him about the wedding. He’s been a part of all life’s big deals so…”

Jace ignored the slight pucker of Khoth’s mouth at the word “wedding”. The Osiris had already explained to him that such parties were not at all a part of celebrating matings in Thaf’ell culture. In fact, they were strictly private affairs. Thaf’ell did not indulge in PDAs. Something as little as brushing one’s hands together was considered intimate.

Khoth had broken some of those taboos with him, but Khoth was notoriously uncomfortable in large groups. And this would be a large group that saw intimate things so he did understand. But Jace really wanted a wedding. Maybe he’d have to scale it down though to something that didn’t torture his mate.