“My Tuc… he told me at the age of six that he wanted to be an actor and I did whatever any father would do to help him achieve those goals. His first role was ina small Council project not long after. It was… it was a safety briefing about interplanetary travel and they saw that spark in him that you all have seen.” He briefly looked up at the crowd before him, his sad smile distant.

I had to look down. The heartbreak on his face was too overpowering. I couldn’t believe that Tuc was gone.

“He went by a different name then, of course. Ryan. His mother and I choose that name for him but when he started acting more, he wanted a different name. A stage name. He was obsessed with the stars even then. He always said that if he hadn’t gone into acting he would have joined the Corps. He was so thrilled when he got to train with them to learn how to fly. I think he loved living and working here. It was truly a dream come true.”

He fell silent again, tears trickling down his face.

“Not many people know he was in love once. Of course, people know about his flings with fellow actors and actresses but not the one that meant the most to him. My son fell in love with another actress and they had a child together.”

Hushed gasps went through the crowd and whispers followed.

“Her name was Anya. She was a beautiful thing. She had that same spark that both of her parents had and he loved her with his whole heart. Well, he loved Alli too, obviously. They were perfect together. I remember him coming to visit me and his mother once and he was so excited. He told us that he’d found the person he was going to spend the rest of his life with. He couldn’t wait. He bought her a ring not long later.”

Tyler’s hand went to the chain around his neck. I squinted to activate my mods and examine it closer. Three rings were laced onto it. One plain golden ring, one daintier one and one much smaller ring, clearly made for a child.

“I’m not sure if you’re aware of what happened to Alli. I know that the information surrounding her death was suppressed by the Council. Tuc and I were the only people who attended her funeral. The Council wouldn’t even let it be recorded. They thought that, if it got out, it could reflect badly on them. It should have. It was their fault.”

Anger rose in me again as the unfairness of everything crashed into me again. The Council were responsible for so much pain and suffering and yet no one ever did anything about it. They kept a family away from their daughter’s funeral just because they wanted to. They made Tuc give up his kid and caused her death. How could they get away with this? They still do!

“She killed herself. Because of the Council. They pressured Tuc and her to place Anya in an orphanage. They said that it was a short term arrangement and one day, when Alli and Tuc were older, they’d be able to adopt her and live together.” He shook his head sadly. “I should have pushed harder to adopt her. I never should have let them give her up.”

He paused again, closing his eyes as tears cascaded down his face.

“As you might know, Alli withdrew from the public eye. Her career ground to a halt and even though Tucky’s was going well, she couldn’t get any roles. She decided to retire from acting and tried to adopt Anya, like the Council had always promised her that she could but… She’d run into some problems when she was a kid herself. Quite a few people know about her history and… they ruled her to be an unfit mother. That Anya would be unsafe with her. That she wouldn’t look after her properly.”

The entire hall was hanging on his every quiet word. I knew how important it was for this story to be told but my heart hurt. I didn’t want to hear anything else but I couldn’t stop listening.

“It drove her into a deep depression but she managed to convince herself that the orphanage would look after Anya. That she’d be safe there. Anya died from pneumonia at the age of six. None of us were ever alerted to the fact that she was ill and they cremated her before we could even see her body. That was the final straw for Alli. Even though Tuc did everything he could to support her, the world become too dark a place and not long after he came back from a set to find her dead in their apartment. I still remember that evening. He showed up at our door, blood coating his clothes. I thought he was dying.”

Tyler wiped his nose on a tissue, taking a moment to collect himself.

I couldn’t stop myself picturing Tuc in his mid-twenties, covered in blood, collapsing into his dad’s arms and sobbing.

“He couldn’t move on from that. I managed to convince him to stay with us for a little while but he was barely a shadow of his old self. For months, he didn’t really eat, he didn’t talk or laugh. It’s like when Alli and Anya died, they took a part of his spirit. I became desperate. I reached out to someone I hadn’t spoken to in years. Someone who I knew was alive despite the Council believing he was dead.”

His gaze landed on Elliot who’s chin was held high, despite his watering eyes.

“I don’t talk about my time in the Corps much but some of you might know that I was on Andy and Elliot’s crew for a time. Andy and I were neighbours growing up and I followed him to Corps. I was on the mission that almost cost Elliot his life. I knew about Freo for as long as they did and I knew that Tuc couldn’t go on living under the Council rule, he’d do something reckless that would cost him his life. Elliot came down to Nova and collected him the day I contacted him.”

I saw Andy reach out and take Elliot’s hand as his head slumped down and he cried silent tears but still, Tyler continued.

“Tuc didn’t ask questions. He didn’t even look back. He just got into the ship with Elliot and they were gone. Sometimes I wish I’d left then too but I know if I had then he would have never healed. He needed to be away from Nova and all reminders of it. He needed to do it by himself.”

Tyler took a deep breath and waited for Elliot to look up at him.

“Thank you,” Tyler began. “For being a father to him when I couldn’t.”