The Insurrection

Chapter Four

"There is no change without sacrifice" ~ Gloria Allred

Once we arrive and head on inside, we are greeted by everyone who helped us get this far with Mila and Nicodemo at the front lines. Warm embraces and heavy tears spread through the room like a wildfire. In a way, we all became family over these past few months. There were three unfamiliar faces to which dad introduced us, they were the only remaining survivors from UniFed's captives besides dad. Zahra got a chance to finally reconcile with her husband, Anwar.

Mila looks through us, confusion marring her eyebrows, "Tau?" She asks in a soft voice.

I feel physical pain in my chest as if a piece of my heart really did crack at the thought of him never being with us again. I shook my head once, and the faces that were relieved at our arrival grew heavy with sorrow.

After a few moments we disperse and everyone gives us time to settle back in. It feels odd to be back here knowing we didn't succeed, yet we are still alive. Most of us anyway.

Dad walks me to the room that he and mom shared while Leon and Taika go to the room we had from before.

I turned to him, "Have you seen Alex yet?"

The corners of his lips lift up, "I have, yes. He's grown so much I can hardly believe my eyes." He turns to fully face me, "You have as well, by the way. I am so proud of you. For everything. Taking care of Alex and yourself on your own all these years. And then having the courage to put everything on the line and come here to start your own movement. My only regret is that I couldn't be there to see it all."

My throat tightens and it becomes hard to swallow, "Well, you're here now, dad."

He gave me a short nod before turning his head to the hallway behind us and I turned too to see what caught his attention. I see Alex's little body barreling towards us, nearly knocking me over as he wraps his arms around my legs.

For a minute, the rest of the world disappears and all I see is Alex and his huge, perfect smile.

"Hey, buddy. I missed you." I say.

He cranes his neck to look up at me, "You made it!"

I chuckle, "I promised you I would come back for you."

He nods, "Yeah, and so did dad, and look, now he's back too!" He jumps on the balls of his feet in excitement.

Dad bends down to be eye-level with Alex and I watch their interaction. Alex looks like he can't believe dad is even real, and to be frank, I can't really believe it either. Three years of thinking he was dead will do that to you. Three years of being under the hands of UniFed sucked the life and fight out of him like he was pained to even keep himself upright. I wonder what he's going through right now, what he thinks of all this.

The next day we held a memorial service for Tau. It's indoors since we cannot risk being seen right now. There wasn't a single dry eye in the room, and it speaks volumes for Tau. To be this missed and celebrated for the man he was and the life he led.

Zahra motions me towards the podium at the head of the room, and I fill my lungs with air, praying that my words do Tau justice.

"My first interaction with Tau involved a gun pointed at my head and some very explicit threats on my life," light laughter resounds through the chamber, "Once he found out who I was, he would never have admitted it, but he grew incredibly protective. That was the man he was. He would protect his people with everything he had, even if it was his own life. And he would fight the corrupt system that blackens our World darker each day, even when he knew he could have just turned a blind eye and lived a comfortable life off of UniFed's paycheck,'' murmurs go around the room, "Tau was a great man, husband, and friend. But most of all, he set the bar high for the rest of us. He had a purpose and he fought for it till his death. Nothing ever stopped him. Just like nothing will ever stop us. His death won't be for nothing. We will avenge him and everyone else we lost. They deserve nothing less."