A funeral with full military honors was held for all the students that were lost in the Pantaurus incident, with the exception of the traitors. The Empire provided accommodations and transportation to all the cadets, their families, and the families of the fallen to the service. It was held on Orrantia, the first and smallest moon of Orlan, dedicated to anyone who had fallen in service to the Empire. The bodies of all the cadets were brought to the moon, each one laid on a marble slab covered by the Imperial flag: A silver eight pointed star with Astria curved over it on a red field with a black border. By tradition a wake was held so those who wished to could pay their respects. The Royal Guard escorted each person or group through the memorial site.

After the wake all the mourners gathered for the ceremony. Like most things in the Empire it was relatively simple. A rite was said over the person who had died for their spirit to be reborn among the stars and gain new life. Then a Memorandum of the Church of Stars would compress the body into a gem and place it into the family’s memorial plaque. Being a member of the church was not a requirement and the Memorandum who performed the Rite of Compression did not charge for their services. Being a Memorandum was a highly respected profession and many gladly provided counseling services for anyone who needed it, also at no cost. By tradition, the Memorandum was offered to join in the remembrance feast and offered lodgings. Many partook of the former and few the latter. When the last member of a family dies their Remembrance plaque is brought to a Church of Stars temple to be included in their Remembrance Day celebrations. No one in the Empire is ever truly forgotten.

The Church of Stars services were not required, and some planets had their own customs which were respected. It was as close to an official religion as the Empire had, revering the stars and Astria as guiding lights. Kiera had always felt comfortable in their temples. Her father introduced each of his children to the religion but didn’t require any of them to attend services if they didn’t want to. Kiera’s niece Chelsea, daughter of the fifth born Kallax, was a Memorandum and was only seen during Remembrance.

Amadeus Astria presided over the funeral. “There is no word in any language for a parent who loses a child. No word can contain the heartache and the pain of seeing a bright, shining life cut short. None of us ever imagined that we would be here, saying goodbye to so many shining stars, remembering these brave young men and women. Today we send their spirits to the stars, so they may be reborn. May they be brighter in their next life than they were in this one. May we remember them with fondness and joy, and may they forgive us for failing to protect them.”

One by one the parents or loved ones of each cadet were escorted to the place the cadet lay. They spoke the rite to release the cadet’s spirit to the stars. After the last one had been spoken, Amadeus lifted his hands. Silver starlight surrounded each body, the light was almost too bright to be seen. When it faded there were two stones, one red and silver to be placed in the memorial wall the other a color significant to each individual cadet to be brought home and placed in their family’s memorial plaque. The families were invited to place their stones on the memorial wall at their leisure in a section of the wall reserved for them. The ceremony concluded.

Kiera’s shuttle took her directly to the royal landing pad at the palace. She rode in silence with her mother and sister. Hailey’s mother had asked her to stand with her to send Hailey’s spirit to the stars. Hailey’s father had been injured when some of the Dalimarian dukes sprang Tracksuit’s coup and couldn’t attend. Kiera ended up saying the rite because her mother broke down crying and couldn’t get the words out. Tiberius looked ashen when he sent his daughter to the stars. His wife’s eyes were unfocused and Percival was as stoic as she’d ever seen him. Her family was gathering to attend their own wake and celebration of Liandra’s life. The funeral on Orrantia occurred early in the morning, Orlan time.

No one was in the mood to talk. Breakfast was eaten in silence Tiberius arrived at Noon. Traditionally the wake should have lasted from sunrise to sunset, but he wanted the stars to shine above them since flying through them had always brought his daughter the most joy. During the wake fond memories and stories were shared about Liandra, a celebration of her life in somber reverence. Several times Kiera wanted to excuse herself, the weight of the entire family’s emotions difficult to bear. She steeled her resolve; while it was not considered rude to leave a wake, it was to return. Not even the servants who brought them small meals and drinks were allowed to return, and all of them paid their respects before leaving. Chelsea joined them providing comfort to her family, her own emotions were kept perfectly in check. Kiera didn’t try to read her.

The grief, both hers and her family'’s, overcame her resolve and Kiera fell asleep at some point during the night. She woke up before the sun rose and found that she wasn’t the only one. Fray and Tavin were both asleep and so was ten year old Elrion, her nephew who insisted on staying the entire time. Kiera stood up, stretching her legs and walked over to Percieval, Liandra’s older brother. He was sitting with Leiella which surprised her; she didn’t remember seeing Leiella earlier. Her Captain was wearing her formal Royal Knight uniform. Kiera joined them, rubbing Percival’s back. She had always called Percy and was the only one allowed to. He acknowledged his “favorite” aunt and leaned into her. It hurt to see her nephew, her friend, be in so much pain.

After an hour she left him to go check on her brother and sister-in-law. Tiberius looked like he had aged, his once dark beard sprinkled with lines of gray. She gently squeezed his shoulder; he replied with a weak smile. Katarina, his wife stared blankly ahead.

“Keep your guard up, Twelve,” Tiberius said, barely able to keep the rage out of his voice, “Someone is working against us. When I heard how you were taken, how easily they slid through our wards and now this.” He closed his eyes, “If you are permitted to return to the academy I implore you not to. Stay here on Orlan, where we can protect you.”

“You won’t convince me to run, First. None of us will just hide.” Tiberius sat up a bit straighter, his eyes held more heat, “I learned the hard way not to act in anger. It got me kidnapped, nearly killed, and nearly made into some asshole’s trophy wife. Your anger is palpable.” Tiberius exhaled, some of his anger, the bit he had directed towards Kiera burned away.

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“Anger is a weapon to be wielded, but one must be cautious lest the anger wield you,” Tiberius quoted, “I will bear that in mind, Twelve.”

“I promise you that I want to find those who are responsible. I want to know why they killed so many people trying to kill me and Liandra. I want them to face justice,” Kiera said, “I can’t do that alone.”

“That burden is not yours to bear, Twelve,” Tiberius whispered, “I will let you know when I find them.”

“Or I you,” Kiera said, meaning every word, “How does Percy know my Captain?”

Tiberius turned his head, “She was Katarina’s knight. She chaperoned all of our dates. When we were wed Ella was the Maid of Honor. When Katarina was pregnant, Leiella did as well in case she needed to act as a wet nurse, per royal Eladrin tradition. When they were on Arcadia in the maternity ward the Koth’al’tah, an eladrin supremacist group, angry that I was not an Eladrin and wed to the crown princess of Arcadia, kidnapped them both. Ella convinced them after they both gave birth that she was the princess and Katarina was her knight.

“Katarina was found three days after the kidnapping, weak but relatively unharmed. The baby was nowhere to be found. It took us a year to find Leiella, no, it took Leiella a year to contact us, she had been taken three systems away, her deception discovered. She never spoke about what happened, but when we arrived she had a happy, healthy half-eladrin boy she had named Percival that had looked just like me, black hair and green eyes. DNA was verified and father Knighted her as a Royal Knight. She stayed with us and helped raise Percival until he went into the military, she then joined Holt Peregrine and became a mecha pilot. Elise had been brought into the palace to help Katarina, and began working with Leiella as well. When you were born, Katarina or Leiella would bring both Percival and Liandra to play. You’ve known her all your life, but probably don’t remember her, you were around ten when she left.”

Kiera blinked, “Ella,” she said, “I can’t believe she didn’t tell me or I didn’t make the connections. What happened to—”

“I don’t know, and she won’t tell. Please don’t ask her,” Tiberius took Kiera’s hand and squeezed it, “Thank you for the distraction, Twelve.”

“Lily and I hung out when we were off duty on the Calm. Robyn was trying to convince her to come back to be a helmsman. She always followed her passions,” Kiera said, “She constantly had guys after her. The guy she took to the Winter Formal is a great guy. He was the tiger moreau that you spoke with after the ceremony.

Tiberius nodded, “She did. Thank you, Twelve, I mean that. Promise me that you will be careful.”

“I promise.”

Kiera returned to her seat. Darthian was missing, she remembered seeing him the morning after she arrived, but couldn’t recall when he left. Not that it mattered, he didn’t think anyone other than father and his brothers were family, his treatment of his niece and nephews as a little warmer but not by much. It was unlikely that he stayed long.

When the wake ended, Tiberius took Liandra's stone into the Family Room and set it into the Rememberance Plaque. It was the third stone to be added. The Entire family gathered together in the banquet room to share Liandra’s favorite foods and drinks. Grief still clung to everyone although they tried to put on smiles and bring some cheer back into their lives. She felt everyone’s emotions so vividly, but felt numb herself. She had been numb at the funeral and through the wake, more concerned with trying to make sure everyone else was taken care of and comfortable. Liandra was more than just her niece. She was a close friend, they only drifted when they were both training for the academy, but then they came back together like no time had passed. It was always like that with her, Percieval, too. Why didn’t she feel anything? She cried with Koda over her friends, and just felt empty when she thought about Hailey and Jin when she was alone. Did the trauma take away her own grief? Even when she learned Jin and Hailey were gone she only shed a few tears.

Kiera and sought out her mother. Everyone in the family had been speaking with her or making arrangements on her insistence. Like Kiera, it was hard to say no to Elise, and everyone liked her. Elise took her out to the garden, away from everyone. Kiera realized her mother hadn’t been projecting her aura at all.

“You know that everyone grieves differently. Some people need physical affection, others use humor to deflect their sadness. Others become depressed or cry, or keep themselves busy. These are all valid ways to grieve. It doesn’t always happen immediately and there will be things that you see that will trigger grief. It had no set stages, no formula to know when you’re done grieving. I don’t believe you ever truly stop grieving a loved one.

“Nymphs are creatures of comfort. We are soothing, easy to talk to, pleasurable to look at, willful lovers and patient listeners. When we feel such intense sorrow and grief our natural inclination is to comfort those who are suffering. We become numb to our own sadness so we can be the bright presence, the gentle companion, and a caregiver. You experienced this on Pantaurus when you said you had to keep busy, that you didn’t want to rest and kept surprising everyone when you asked how they were after losing your leg.

“We all have our limits, you met yours and then you needed to be comforted and for you, it has always been physical contact. You want to be held and cuddled and know that you are loved. All your pent up frustrations, your grief at the loss of your leg, all the emotions of those around you. So when Locke took you to a warmer place and started taking care of you, you needed to know that you were still attractive without your leg, that you were still loved. On some level he probably understood that. He’s not the type of young man just to sleep with a pretty girl who offers him sex.”

Elise wrapped her arms around Kiera, “That was a little more long winded than I intended, but you’re fine. My Radiant Starlight. You grieve for Liandra, Hailey, Jin and the others you lost and you will express it when others' grief is not so potent. You have dear friends who love you to lean on, and you have me, too. Always.”

Kiera sighed in her mother’s embrace, there was no one else in the world who could make her feel so loved, other than Emily. “Thanks, Mom,” Kiera said, “Do you know when Emily will be here?”

“First thing in the morning.”