Beyond - Legends The Journal of Talon Tantiss (DDC 2013 ) Updated 22 Dec 2013--Complete.

Great fun at the convention and now with Zylie's dad. He looks OK

 

See Talon, that wasn't so bad

 

Thank you Nyota's Heart, earlybird-obi-wan and Hazel for reading and taking the time to review. I am now up to the part when the Journal is in the same time frame as my fanfic Sacrifices. I am going to try to get through this as fast as I can so the people who have read it don't get bored and the people who haven't read it don't have to plow through a lot of updates that they might not understand. I think they will understand it because Talon is finding out about it for the first time and so the reader will have a condensed version of what happened.

~JL~

__________________________________________________

Entry 123

Zylie and I spent the next day taking in the scenery on Kuat. We visited the Tekshar Falls and then a local casino where we took in a show. When we arrived back to the Wild Karrde we both were in good spirits, but as soon as I stepped on the boarding ramp I could tell there was a problem. I could sense anxiety permeating among the crew. I hesitantly walked up the boarding ramp, reaching out with my senses trying to determine if there was danger inside.

Zylie gave me a puzzled look. “What is it?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know. It feels like everybody on board is upset about something.” Zylie went to enter the craft, but I put out my arm blocking her. “Let me go first, just in case.”

It looked like she was going to protest, but she finally nodded and let me lead the way. As I entered I called out for Karrde, Zara or the crew. I was relieved when Zylie’s father came to the ramp.

“Is everything alright?” I asked nervously.

Talon Karrde grimaced. “We’re fine, but we have bad news about your Aunt Mara.”

I remember a cold feeling running down my spine. We were Jedi and we were always in danger. I knew someday one of my loved ones might not come back from a mission. “Is she okay?”

My heart sank when Karrde shook his head. “She’s in a medical bay of the GA Star Destroyer heading back to Coruscant. She was with Jacen, Ben and your father when she was injured on Kavan in the Hapes Cluster.” He motioned for me to follow him. “Talon, I need to talk to you in private.” He looked over to his daughter. “Sorry Zylie, some of what I have to tell him is secret Jedi business.”

I expected Zylie to protest, but she didn’t. “Okay, I’ll be in my cabin.”

“Come on,” he said to me as he walked me to his cabin. He looked inside to make sure his wife was not there before he motioned me in and locked the door behind us. “Sit down.”

I sat down on a bunk as Karrde dropped down on a cushioned chair next to a writing table. “This is what I know and the information comes from your father and Ben.” He ran a hand through his hair nervously and blew out a calming breath before he began. “According to your father, your cousin Jacen has turned to the darkside and tried to kill your Aunt Mara.”

My jaw dropped and for a moment I thought this was the worst practical joke that has ever been pulled on me. “I don’t believe it.”

“You don’t have to believe it, just know your father believes it. He captured Jacen and they're currently on a ship headed for my smuggler’s base on Myrkr.” Karrde hesitated for a moment. “That isn’t even the worst news.”

I gave an incredulous scoff. “How can it be worse? My Aunt is injured, my cousin turned dark, what else can go wrong?”

Karrde averted his eyes. “Your father said your aunt was poisoned with the toxin Malkite Therfar.”

I shook my head. “That’s impossible, no one can survive that poison.”

“That’s the rub. She didn’t survive. According to your father she died. He had to use a Sith resurrection technique to save her. When I talked to your father…he had the eyes of a Sith.”

For a second I wondered how my dad knew a Sith resurrection technique, but then I remembered he had Palpatine's memories. Still, the story was hard to believe. “So my father and my cousin are both darksiders?”

Karrde shrugged. “Your dad didn’t appear to be evil when I talked to him, except when he stunned a shackled Jacen for talking.”

“My dad stunned Jacen?”

“It looks like he did a little more than stun him. His face was bloodied and bruised. Mark wants me to contact your brother and have Jaden meet him at the base.”

My brow furrowed in confusion. “Why Jaden? Cilghal would be a better choice.”

Karrde gave me a sheepish look. “He said he wants to make sure things are secure before the Jedi get there, but my guess is he wants to get Jacen medical help before the rest of the Jedi see him.”

“Ohh,” I winced at the thought of my father beating Jacen. My dad is usually a big softy when it comes to his family, but if my father thought Jacen tried to kill Mara I wouldn’t be surprised if he totally lost it and tried to beat the Sith out of my cousin. “I’ll go get Jaden and bring him to Myrkr. Can you get Zylie home?”

Karrde nodded. “I’ll get Chin to fly her back to school after her break. Don’t worry about anything. Just go help your father.”

I stood. “I guess I’ll go say goodbye to Zylie and get back to Coruscant.”

Karrde unlocked the door and followed me out of the cabin. “Take care of yourself Talon. I don’t need anything happening to you.”

I gave Zylie’s dad a confused smile. “Why is that?”

Karrde smirked. “If you end up hurt or dead I don’t think my daughter would ever believe I wasn’t the one who put you in that condition.”

I stared at him slack jawed for a moment. “Umm…thanks, I guess.”

Karrde laughed and waved me off. “Go help your dad.”


Entry 124

When I talked to Zylie I only told her I had to leave because my Aunt was poisoned and hospitalized on a Star Destroyer. I left out everything else. She was very upset, but also a bit suspicious of her father’s story. She thought it was possible he concocted the incident to get rid of me (Ironically, this is after weeks of Zylie insisting her parents really like me and would accept our relationship). I eventually convinced her that her father didn't manufacture the story to shoo me off. I kissed her goodbye and then returned to my shuttle and set a course for Coruscant.


Entry 125

When I arrived to the Temple I immediately went to my parents’ quarters. My brother was there trying to comfort my mother who was understandably upset. It turns out that between hyperspace jumps my father finally called her.

My mother was trembling as she told me her story. “His eyes are all yellow and he stunned Jacen while we were talking.”

I remember thinking, ‘Again?!’ Dad must be really furious with Jacen is he is stunning him all the time.

“I thought he killed him at first.” My mother was in near hysterics. “He doesn’t want me to tell Luke where he’s going until he gets to Myrkr. He wants Jaden to meet him there.” She looked over to my brother who was sitting on her couch looking despondent. “I don’t want Jaden to go alone. If Jacen really turned to the darkside, he could be dangerous…even on a Force-void planet like Myrkr.” She turned to me. “You need to go with your brother.”

“Hey, I’m a Jedi also, Mom,” Jaden protested.

“You’re a healer, not a fighter.” She gave me a pleading look. “You’ll go with him, won’t you?”

I gave her a forced smile. “Of course. I’ll go and make sure Dad’s okay.”

“And make sure he doesn’t hurt Jacen. The poor boy looked like he was trampled by dewbacks.”

“I’ll make sure.”

My mother’s eyes narrowed. “He said he’d call Luke when he gets planet side, but if he doesn’t I’m going to tell the Jedi where he’s at. Luke needs to know what’s going on.”

I shrugged. “Let’s tell him now.”

Mom shook her head. “Your father wants you two there before the Jedi arrive.” She thought about it for a while before reaching a decision. “I’ll wait until you two are underway, but then I’m telling Luke.”

I looked to my brother. “I guess we should go then.”


Entry 126

My brother and I finagled our way aboard the Temple Shuttle named Jedi Sentinel. Jaden had planned to go to a medical conference this week and luckily had a shuttle request in. We simply asked for the ship a couple days earlier than scheduled. Hopefully the early departure wouldn’t cause anybody to ask any questions. We wanted to get to Myrkr as fast and covertly as possible.

I helped my brother carry his medical bags to the ship. Jaden was quieter than usual. He was worried about my aunt, our cousin and especially our father.

“I talked to Ben and he said Dad scared him while on Kavan,” Jaden said softly. “He had wild yellow eyes and was really angry.”

My brother’s voice was full of dread. I knew what he was worried about. We both grew up hearing the story about how the Emperor Reborn temporarily possessed my father's body. When the Sith Lord's spirit was forced out of him my dad discovered he had retained Palatine’s memories and knowledge. If my dad ever turned to the darkside he could do major damage to the galaxy. Palpatine had brought on the purge of the entire Jedi order…what could my dad do if he went dark?

“Don’t worry Jaden. Dad used the darkside to save Aunt Mara. That doesn’t sound like the actions of an evil Sith.” I said the words, but deep down I was also worried. We stored his gear in the cargo hold and then walked to the cockpit. I dropped into the pilot seat and started our preflight prep.

My brother glanced over to me from the copilot chair. “No, it doesn’t sound like something a Sith would do. But I also can’t believe Jacen would do anything to hurt his family.”

My shoulders drooped. “That is hard to believe. It could be that dad is wrong about Jacen.” I drew a deep breath. “But you have to remember how Jacen’s been acting for the last few years. First he starts getting withdrawn and secretive. Then he disappears for to search for Force knowledge and when he comes back he discovers the woman he’s secretly been in love with for years gave birth to somebody else’s kid.” I activated the engines and called in the departure request.

My brother looked over to me. “I can’t see that turning him dark. Jacen didn’t appear too upset over Tenel Ka’s baby. I mean, he was shocked and upset at first, but within days he seemed back to normal.”

I guided the ship out of the Temple hanger bay and plotted a course to upper orbit. “Could the child be his?”

My brother thought about it. “That would necessitate Jacen actually having sex with Tenel Ka.”

“Yeah, like that’s going to happen.” I scoffed. “She probably got tired of waiting around for Jacen to make the first move. Her old biological clock was ticking and you know what they say, any port in a storm.”

“Isn’t that what you say?”

I shook my head. “Not anymore. I think my strange port docking days are over.”

My brother grinned and made the sound of a lightwhip. “Zylie has you so whipped already.”

“Please.” I said scathingly, but secretly I knew he was right. She was amazingly seductive for a virgin. Not that I doubt her claim of purity…it’s just hard to believe that she has managed to manipulate me around her little finger. Me! Talon Tantiss the man who the sleemo holonet claims is the heartbreaker of the galaxy. I shrugged my shoulders noncommittally. “If you are going to be whipped it might as well be by a smoking hot woman.” I turned and gave my brother a knowing look. “What do you have? The only female in your bed at night is your pitten Fuzzy.”

Jaden rolled his eyes. “I noticed she sleeps with you now.”

“Jealous?

“Yes. But don’t worry about me. I have a lady friend.”

“Who?”

“None of your business. All I’ll say is she is very beautiful.”

“Liar.”

“Yeah, you keep thinking that.”

I brought the ship out of the planet’s atmosphere and punched in the hyperdrive coordinates. Our next stop was Myrkr.

 

Exciting updates and what's happening? Waiting for the next entry

 

Intense. I love delving into Sacrifices territory


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Nice sum-up of the major events in Sacrifices. It will be cool to see the Myrkr part from Talon's eyes.

 

I agree. Not too little, or too much detailing. Talon had the expected reactions. Nice having the bits of teasing thrown in too.

 

This is based on my fanfic I wrote for last year's NaNoWriMo competition. It mirrors what happened in LOTF where Jacen trains with Lumiya and goes dark because he has visions of his daughter being in danger and he wants to save her. But in my story the Jedi respond differently and there is a different outcome to the story. Since the situation had to be explained to Talon in my NaNo fanfic the reader should soon know what is happening. The only problem I have in writing this journal is Mark Tantiss (Talon's dad) discovers the depth of Jacen's bad deeds in the fanfic Sacrifices...and he ends up doing a major cover up. He doesn't tell the Jedi or his family. Therefore Talon won't understand some of Mark's actions later on and he probably will never know.

 

Thanks Nyota's Heart, Hazel, earlybird-obi-wan, and EmeraldJediFire for reading and taking the time to review. I know in Sacrifices Talon comes off as cheeky, but deep down he was scared. He just didn't want this father to know how nervous he was. He was putting on a brave, if not cocky, facade.

I am going to post some more. I want to get through this time so I can get him back to Zylie. I enjoy writing about those two's exploits.

Thanks again for reading!

~JL~
____________________________________________________________________

Entry 127

We arrived to Myrkr without any problems. As I approached the landing pad I noticed my father had company. Alongside my father’s hideously modified shuttle (imagine a Z-95 Headhunter and a family shuttle got married and had a horribly deformed baby…and that would be my father’s modified ship) there was a shiny silver starship. I wasn’t sure who it belonged to, but I was impressed by its sleek lines and armament.

I landed our shuttle next to the silvery ship and prepared to debark. I helped my brother get his bags out of the storage compartments and then lowered the ramp. I turned back to Jaden and smirked. “Mom said to keep you safe. So I’m going down to talk to Darth Daddy.”

My brother rolled his eyes and waved me off. I walked to the boarding ramp and surveyed my surroundings. I’ve never been to Myrkr before and now I know why the Jedi hate the planet. It felt like somebody turned off the Force. It was an unnerving feeling. I looked down the ramp to the main building and saw my father waiting for me.

Even from a distance I could see his yellow tinged eyes and it made me shiver. I have always seen my dad as a gentle giant and my protector, but for the first time I saw him as the enemy might view my dad. He is an imposing figure at almost 2.15 meters in height. His 125 kilograms frame is pure muscle, with broad shoulders, a barrel chest and arms that are as big as some men’s legs. For a fleeting moment I wondered if my mother wanted me to come to Myrkr not to protect my brother from Jacen…but my own father.

My dad looked up to me and gave a big smile. I felt a huge sense of relief flood my body when I saw his smiling face. After all, Sith don’t smile…do they? I quickly moved down the ramp to greet him. As I approached I started wondering about those Sith-stained eyes. Being on Myrkr and cut off from the Force you would think his eyes would return to normal even if he was a full blown Sith. I thought that was extremely odd.

“Hey Dad,” I said with a smile trying to sound as upbeat as possible.

My father walked up to me and gave my shoulder a squeeze. "It's good to see you Talon." He looked up to the ship. "Did you bring Jaden?"

"He's on board and packing up his medical field gear. I thought I would come down and check out the situation first."

My dad frowned. "Did you tell your brother to stay inside the ship until you determined if I went to the dark side or not?"

I really couldn’t deny my father’s accusation, because that was exactly what I was doing, but seeing the disappointment in my father’s eyes calmed my fears some more. After all, a real Sith wouldn’t care if his son didn’t trust him.

I gave my father a reassuring grin. "Dad, we all know you can't go Sith."

"And why is that?"

"Because Mom didn't give you permission to do so," I said with a chuckle trying to lighten the mood.

He shook his head and scowled at me. "I don't do everything you mother tells me."

"Sure you don't," I said sarcastically.

Jaden came down the ramp burdened down with medical bags. My father quickly grabbed his gear and helped him carry it inside. We thought we were going to see Jacen, but dad said there was somebody else who needed immediate medical attention. He brought us down the hall to a bunkroom where I met the owner of the mysterious silver ship. It was a middle-aged woman with graying red hair and a face that probably was once beautiful, but was now covered with bruises and blood. She was lying prone on the bed, her upper torso severely burned from blaster fire and with blood pooling around her body. It didn’t take my brother very long to declare her dead.

My dad told us it was Lumiya the Dark Lady of the Sith. She had come to Myrkr to ‘Fetch her apprentice, Jacen.’ Of course, my father had told her there was no way in hell she was going to take Jacen. She pulled out a lightwhip and dad pulled out a blaster. Unfortunately for Lumiya, without the Force a blaster in the hands of a battle hardened Jump Trooper/Jedi always beats out a lightwhip.

She probably wouldn’t have a chance even if she had the Force. I am pretty sure my father is so used to being whipped by a woman that he’s probably immune by now. Ha! Sorry, I know I shouldn’t make light of the situation. It’s just everything is so totally kriffed up that it’s almost comical…almost.

As we turned to leave my dad inquired about my Aunt Mara’s medical status.

"The neurotoxin that poisoned her is almost totally flushed from her system,” Jaden told him. “Her minor cuts and scrapes have healed. She should be taken out of her induced coma any day now…which will be none-too-soon. There are a lot of rumors going around about you, Jacen and the dark side. Uncle Luke wants answers and he is not too happy with you going transceiver silent."

My father shook his head. "I would like some answers, also." He walked out of the room and moved down the corridor. "Jacen is down here."

He led us down the hall to a room where he had secured my cousin. As we neared the door I could hear the clanging of chain on metal. When we entered the room we found Jacen with one hand cuffed to his bed’s metal headboard and trying his best to break free. I was shocked by my cousin’s appearance. He had a black eye and his face was swollen. My dad really put the hurt on him.

I look over to my father and notice he was glaring at Jacen, almost like he wanted to beat him some more. "Knock it off Jacen unless you want me to stun you again." My father warned him as he pulled out his blaster for emphasis.

When Jacen flinched at the sight of the blaster Jaden turned our father. "Dad! How many times have you stunned him?"

Dad shrugged. "I don't know two or three times so far."

Jaden shook his head in disbelief. "Repeated stunning can scramble neurons and cause brain damage."

My father laughed and said he thought Jacen already had brain damage, because otherwise he wouldn’t have trained with a known Sith. This got Jacen angry and despite the fact that a Sith Lord was lying dead at the end of the hall, he adamantly denied that he was working with Lumiya.

He not only denied it, he accused my father of being Sith, pointing out my dad’s yellow eyes as clear evidence. Jacen even alleged that Jaden and I were conspiring with our ‘Dark Lord father’ to mount a Tantiss family Sith takeover of the galaxy. Stang! I think my father scrambled his neurons one too many times. Why would I want to take over the galaxy? That sounds like too much kriff’n work.

My brother gave Jacen a brief physical and tried to patch him up as best he could. Jaden said that despite his horrid appearance Jacen just had facial bruising, nothing broken.

Jacen continued to try to escape and berate my brother and I for not letting him go. Eventually, my brother decided to sedate him. Jacen wasn’t too happy about that.


Entry 128

After Jacen was knocked out, my dad explained to us what was going on. A couple weeks ago dad had seen Jacen with Lumiya in the temple…although my father at the time wasn’t positive it was Lumiya (he was relying on Palpatine’s memories since he never met the woman). The same day Luke thought he felt the presence of Lumiya in the Temple. Having two Jedi Masters sense Lumiya in the Jedi Academy put them on high alert and Jacen under suspicion. It wasn’t known if Jacen was deliberately working with a Sith or he was being tricked by the Dark Lady. The Grand Master didn’t want to accost my cousin and drive him deeper undercover. Instead, Jacen was put under surveillance and a tracking device placed on his StealthX.

When Jacen left Coruscant our Aunt Mara followed him. When Ben realized his mother had left (Uncle Luke was off planet at the time) he decided to follow her and my dad went with him. They ended up on Kavan where they found Mara dead, but Dad saved her using a Sith resurrection technique. The process brought darkside energy swirling through him and changed his eyes yellow. The fact that they remain yellow my father thought was a result of chemical changes in the iris dye he uses to change his light blue eyes to a dark green color. He thought the yellow would stay until he dyed his irises again.

After my dad revived Mara, Ben brought his unconscious mother to a hospital while my dad went after the killer…who he says was Jacen because he found Jacen not far from Aunt Mara’s body and Jacen’s footprints were at the site of my Aunt’s attack. My dad had his ysalamiri with him so Jacen was unable to use the Force once my father tracked him down and captured him.

My dad decided the best place to imprison a Sith is on Myrkr. Seeing that Jacen’s Master came to get him, I think dad did the right thing.

Entry 129

Mom must have told Uncle Luke where dad was only hours after our departure because the Jade Shadow landed on Myrkr early that evening carrying Uncle Luke, Jaina and Ben. My cousin Jaina was the first person to enter the room where Jacen was being held. She took one look at her brother’s bruised face and was pissed. Stang! She was not happy with Jaden and me. Let’s just say she is no longer a fan of the Tantiss family and she made damn sure we knew it.

Ben came into the room behind her. He looked at Jacen’s unconscious body cuffed to the bed and frowned. “Your dad did a number on him, didn’t he?”

I started to get irritated that everybody seemed so kriff’n concerned about Jacen. “He tried to kill your mom, do you blame dad?”

“No!” Jaina burst out. “My brother would never do that!”

“Are you calling our dad a liar?” I asked angrily. I turned to Ben. “Tell her what happened.”

Ben shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know what happened. I found my mother dead and your dad brought her back to life. I don’t know who killed her. It could have been Lumiya.”

Right about then Jacen started to come out of sedation. He was a little loopy and was gazing at everybody with a lost look on his face.

A few minutes later my dad and Uncle Luke entered the room. My father was wearing his leather carrying harness where his pet ysalamiri sat perched on his shoulder. I can only assume that was to reassure the Skywalkers and Jaina that the situation was safe, despite his yellow Sith eyes.

Jacen's eyes went wide when he saw my father. "Watch out Luke! Mark's Sith!" Jacen managed to croak out hoarsely. He started pulling on his restraint while claiming my dad was going to kill everybody.

Jaina made the big mistake of leaning over her brother to try to calm him down. Jacen took the opportunity to grab her blaster with his free hand and without hesitation he aimed and shot my father at point blank range.

When the weapon discharged my dad jerked his hand up in a defensive manner. I cringed knowing the ysalamiri on my dad’s shoulder would prevent him from performing Force deflection or absorption—a technique to defend against blaster fire without the use of a saber.

But then the impossible happened. The blaster bolt hit my father’s hand. The burning energy glowed and spread around his wrist and down his arm before it harmlessly dissipated. Before Jacen could get a second shot off the blaster was suddenly jerked out of his grip by some unseen force.

I watched in total disbelief as the blaster landed in my father’s hand. "Why'd you have to do that Jacen?" My dad said softly as he turned Jaina's blaster over in his hands inspecting it. He looked up at my cousin and gave him a wane smile. "You have been wrong about so many things…and one thing is your assumption that I can't touch the Force."

With that said my father raised the blaster and fired. We could only standby in disbelief as the blaster bolt streaked toward Jacen and impacted against his chest making my cousin go limp.

I thought I just witnessed a murder. Then a horrible thought crossed my mind. My father told me his eyes were still yellow because of chemical alterations in the iris dye he used. I accepted that explanation because I thought he was cut off from the Force. But that’s not true. My dad somehow can touch the Force, despite the presence of the ysalamiri. Did that mean Jacen was right? Was my dad Sith? Did my father apprentice himself under Lumiya and then killed his Master? What the kriff was going on!?

I felt a coldness creep up my spine as I turned and gazed into my father’s yellow tinged eyes. I still get the shakes thinking about that moment.

I need to stop for now. I’m going to see if Jaden has something to calm my nerves. I will write more in this journal later.

 

Awesome post and definitely can feel Talon's sense of being creeped out

 

Exciting entries. His dad a Sith and still able to use the Force.

 

Always fun to see things from Talon's POV

 

Great to read the Sacrifice events from Talon's POV

 

This had to be very hard for Talon to see his father like this. You did a great job conveying it.

 

Thank you Nyota's Heart, Hazel, Briannakin, earlybird-obi-wan and EmeraldJediFire for reading and taking the time to review. I hope those who haven't read the prequel story to this can still understand what is going on. Basically it follows the profics loosely where Jacen is tricked by Lumiya, but in my story the Jedi intervene before Jacen goes full Sith. Jacen was never evil in that story. He was fearful for the lives of Tenel Ka and Allana and was trying to keep them safe, but probably not in the most logical way. He did a lot of stupid things for what he saw as a good cause.

Thanks again for reading!

~JL~
______________________________________________________________

Entry 130

When Jacen was shot my mind was racing so fast that time actually appeared to slow down…like a holofilm put in slow motion. I’ve experienced this type of altered time perception a few times before while under very stressful combat conditions. I always thought adrenaline sped up the function of the brain so I could react faster, but my brother told me that wasn’t the case. He said while the actual event was happening I was experiencing time normally. It is later when I remember the incident that I over estimate the duration of the event. It has something to do with the part of the brain that makes memories going into overdrive. Jaden said our brain sees these denser memories and assumes the only way so much information could have been remembered is if a longer time had elapsed…it is all a memory illusion that results from our brain interpreting things incorrectly (my brother loves showing off his medical expertise).

I really don’t care what the reason is for the phenomenon, to me time slowed down. I don’t care what my physician brother says. I saw the blaster bolt slide across the room and hit my cousin. I turned to my father and gazed into his creepy jaundice eyes and started to wonder if he might actually be Sith. I saw my brother and Jaina lean over Jacen to check his vitals. I also noticed my Uncle’s hand move towards his lightsaber which caused me to panic more than the possibility of having a Sith father. My brain must have unconsciously interpreted that as a threat to my family because without thinking my hand instinctively went to my blaster. Ben must have seen my movement because he brought his hand up to hover above the butt of his weapon. For probably a second or two we had the Jedi version of a Corellian Standoff going on (although in hindsight it was probably just everybody flinching. I know I never intended on shooting anybody).

Fortunately my dad broke the tension before anything awful happened. He lowered the blaster and let out an obvious sigh of relief. "Stupid Sith," he muttered under his breath before he looked around and realized everybody was staring at him in silent trepidation.

"What?" he asked. "It's on stun." He pointed at the blaster setting. "I stunned him."

Sometimes I wonder about my father. Did he really think that’s the only reason we were all speechless and ready to pull blasters on each other? He’s yellow-eyed and apparently blaster-proof! Didn’t he think that would freak us out just a little bit? I wish this journal program had icons because I would put some ‘sarcastic rolling eyes’ right about here.

After we realized Jacen wasn’t dead the tension eased in the room although we were still in shock. Jaden was the first to come out of his stupor. "Shavit Dad, I told you to stop stunning him."

"He had the blaster set to kill," Dad defended himself. "I just stunned him. I don't know why everybody is upset."

"It's not that," my Uncle Luke said slowly. "Mark, none of us can feel the Force. A forest filled with ysalamiri surrounds us and you have one on your shoulder. How did you do, what you just did?"

"Oh, that." My dad said with a chuckle while rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Over the last few years the ysalamiri's effect on me has slowly diminished." He pointed to Jacen. "That's how I knew Jacen was lying when he said he didn't attack Mara."

"I still don't believe it," Jaina defended her brother. "He would never hurt Aunt Mara."

Luke looked at Jaina sadly as he held up his comlink indicating a message came in earlier (Dad later told me that Cilghal called while they were out in the hall). "It's true Jaina. Mara woke up and confirmed it was Jacen who attacked her."

The blood appeared to drain from Jaina’s face as she slowly sat down on the floor and stared at her brother in disbelief.

"What should we do now?" my father asked.

Luke frowned and gave a soft sigh. "Sedate and secure Jacen for now until we find out exactly what's going on."

Uncle Luke then asked to talk to my father in private. Jaina protested, saying my father might not be safe to be around. Uncle Luke tried to reassure her by saying, “Jaina, if Mark can utilize the Force on this planet he could have killed us seconds after we walked out of the Shadow”.

I silently chuckled to myself. Those are such reassuring words (and I say that sarcastically). I have to ask Ben if his father comforted him like that when he was a kid. I can imagine a toddler Ben saying, “Dad, I think there is a monster in my closet.” And Luke replying, “Son, if there was actually a monster in your room he would have killed you and eaten your entrails by now…so go to sleep.” Ha!

But I guess Uncle Luke is right. If my father was Sith there wouldn’t be a damn thing we could do to stop him from killing us all…although I’d hope he wouldn’t kill his sons…or at least me. Hey, he did say I was his favorite.

Seriously, I feel a little embarrassed for doubting my father earlier. My dad would never become Sith—mainly because of my mother. And I am not making any aspersions on my father’s manhood by saying so, because my mom in reality doesn’t boss him around (my dad is just easy going).

My dad would never go Sith because he loves my mother so much he would never do anything to strain that relationship. When they’re together I can feel love and affection oozing through the Force. Sensing all that mushiness was a was a bit disconcerting when I a young boy, but now I find it heartening. Although split-ups are rare amongst married Jedi, the divorce rate for Jump Troopers is about seventy percent. I’ve seen a lot of broken homes and I consider myself lucky to be in an intact family.

I’m digressing. I guess I am still trying to absorb and comprehend what has just happened.

Right now, it looks like my cousin started training with a Sith and he killed my aunt. My father had to temporarily go darkside to save my aunt and then my father killed the evil Sith Lumiya and captured Jacen. Finally, we discover my father is immune to the Force-voiding effects of the ysalamiri (probably because he lived with a pet ysalamiri for almost thirty years)…and he stunned Jacen again.

Damn! Jacen is sure to become brain damaged if my dad keeps stunning him all the time.


Entry 131

Jacen remained sedated until Uncle Luke could figure out what to do with him. I tried to talk to Jaina about the situation, but she is depressed and doesn’t want to talk to me.

I had decided to raid the kitchen to see if there was anything to eat when I ran into my father. I was chewing a ration bar and drinking some bottled water when he crooked a finger in my direction. "Talon, I need to talk to you…privately."

‘Crap. What did I do now?’ I thought worriedly, but then I thought, ‘Why the hell am I worried? Nothing I have done recently can compare to this Sith-storm of bantha crap that has been dumped on my family in the last few days. I haven’t gone darkside or shot any family members…so I should be home free’.

I nodded my head and followed my dad outside into the warm afternoon air.

"So…," dad said slowly. "I heard you are dating Zylie Karrde."

‘Opps’. I guess I should have told my parents about that. "Yes we are…who told you?"

"Her father told me." My dad said matter-of-factly. "Karrde said you were on his ship a few days ago. I was just wondering why you didn't mention anything to me or your mother about it."

"I wasn't hiding the relationship, if that's what you're thinking. I happened to see her while on Coruscant a few months ago. She was happy to see me. We're old friends. She's on school break this week and asked me if I could give her a ride to her father's ship." I gave my father a questioning look. "Did Karrde say he didn't want me dating her?" My stomach started to feel queasy. Zylie’s parents seemed to have warmed up to the idea that I was courting their daughter; maybe I was wrong about that.

"It's not that," dad said as he pointed to a low retaining wall. "Sit down, Talon."

I sat on the duracrete wall while my father paced back and forth. "Talon, you were named after Zylie's father. He is one of my closest friends."

I gave my father a guarded look. "I know that Dad." I shifted on the wall nervously not knowing exactly where he was going with this conversation. "Do you have a problem with me dating Zylie?"

Dad blew out an exasperated breath. "No, I have a problem with you possibly breaking Talon's little girl's heart. I know your reputation as a womanizer."

I scoffed. "Dad, the HoloNet sleemos make up ninety-five percent of the sordid stories they write about me."

He laughed. "Yes, I know. It's the other five percent I'm worried about."

I shook my head. "Dad, I'm not out breaking hearts."

He gave me a dubious smile. "You mean you haven't went through, let's see…" he started counting out on his fingers. "Three or four relationships in the last year alone?"

I shook my head in disbelief. Obviously somebody in the Intelligence Corps had been feeding my father information about me dating female officers while on deployment (this was prior to me meeting up with Zylie). "No, they weren't relationships. I made it quite clear to those women I didn't want any commitments. I'm not ready to settle down. I simply wanted some female company."

Dad scoffed. "That sounds like a kriff-call to me."

I laughed. "Of course it is, they're using me for my body." I joked. "I almost never initiate contact with the women. They come up to me." I made a sweeping gesture with my hand down my body. "I can't help it if I inherited the Skywalker good looks and your muscular build."

Dad rolled his eyes. "So then you told Zylie that she's just a Kriff buddy?"

I bristled at the insinuation. "No I didn't tell her that, because it's not true," I gritted my teeth in anger. "Don't talk about her like that. She's a nice girl."

Force! I must be in love. I have never felt so irritated with my father before. I actually felt like punching him. I looked away and took a calming breath. "Dad, I really like her. She absolutely is not impressed that I am a Jedi. She sees me…me, not the Jedi robes, not the prestige of being a member of the Jedi Order." I paused for a moment. "She sees only me, Talon Tantiss. Dad, we're old friends that were reunited. I am not going to screw up this relationship." I hesitated for a moment. "In fact, we're not having sex."

My father’s eyes widened with shock. "What! This must be serious." He then leaned forward and gave me a withering glare. "I like the idea of you going slow, but you better not be seeing other women while dating Zylie…to satisfy those needs. That will hurt her just as much."

"No!" I protested, offended by the suggestion. I may have dated a number of women, but only one at a time. I’m not a cheating sleemo! Not even when I dated Nalli’ti who probably couldn’t have cared less if I did. "I wouldn't do that to her and I definitely wouldn't want to get on the bad side of her father."

My dad gave me a wary look. "Good, because Talon Karrde is not a man to be trifled with. He's the only person in the galaxy that I know of that has not only killed a Sith Lord, but he captured a Jedi Master. And he did it all without the Force. Just keep that in mind."

“I will, Dad,” I promised my father. Stang! I was little irked that he believed I would do anything to hurt Zylie. He must really believe those sleemo holozine stories about me if he’s worried about my love life when we’re dealing with a dead Sith, a fallen Jedi and my dad’s brush with the darkside.

I guess that is more proof that dad isn’t Sith. A Sith wouldn’t give a damn if I broke a young girl’s heart. I guess I shouldn’t be too upset with my father. I do have a horrible reputation—it’s unearned—but it’s still terrible.

 

Love that father/son talk. LOL Mark is more protective of Zylie's heart as if he was her dad, not Talon's. He should know he and Kira raised their sons not to be jerks in the romance department. I like that Zylie and Talon did start out as friends and know each other that way first. It makes the love deeper and stronger, and the investment greater, because they're invested in the relationship as friends as well.

 

Poor Talon. But that just shows your dad cares

 

Great to see Talon has a caring dad who is trying to save all. I hope Jacen will be alright. I really like him

 

Poor Talon. What a rough time.

 

Poor Talon with his undeserved reputation.

 

Thanks Hazel, Briannakin, earlybird-obi-wan, EmeraldJediFire, and Nyota's Heart for reading and taking the time to comment. I usually get 300 views per post so I want to thank each of you for reading the story 60 times. Just kidding. I want to thank all my lurkers.

I hope I am writing this so people can understand what is going on if they didn't read Sacrifices. I basically took the dark Jacen profic storyline and tried to give it a happy ending.

Thanks again for reading!

~JL~

_______________________________________________________________________

Entry 132


My dad and Uncle Luke spent a long time talking to Jacen and trying to figure out why he did what he did. After they told him my Aunt Mara was alive and talking, Jacen reluctantly admitted to training with Lumiya, but he insisted he didn’t try to kill my Aunt Mara. He thought he was using a tranquilizer dart that would cause memory loss and unconsciousness, not a poison that would kill her. He said he used it in an attempt to escape my aunt. He needed to remain free because Lumiya told him he had some great destiny to save the universe. My dad said he could sense the truthfulness behind his words, so I believe him. That takes a load off my mind. It was awful that it happened, but the fact that he never intended to kill my Aunt Mara made me feel a little better.

Of course he actually did try to kill my father and I am not too happy about that, but my dad said I should forgive Jacen. He truly was confused and really thought my dad turned Sith. My father later admitted to me that he hadn’t been exactly straightforward and forthcoming with Jacen after his capture.He told Jacen my Aunt Mara was dead and his eyes were yellow because he was angry that Jacen murdered her…not because he used a Sith resurrection technique to revive her.Dad didn’t want Jacen to know she survived because he thought my cousin would become desperate if he knew he left a witness behind…and a desperate fallen Jedi is a lot more dangerous than one who thinks he can talk his way out of the situation.

Of course, this really confused Jacen because he thought he just knocked my Aunt Mara out with a tranquilizer dart. He truly believed my father went Sith and killed my Aunt and was trying to pin the murder on him. I know that probably doesn’t make a bit of sense. It appears people were doing a lot of things based on false assumptions.

I don’t think we are going to get any further clarification though. Jacen has shut down and refused to answer more questions. He did say he no longer wants to be a Jedi Knight and requested that he be immediately removed from the Order. He is so insistant on officially leaving the Jedi Order that I honestly think he is doing it to distance himself in an attempt to protect the Order. This makes me question my father’s belief that Jacen is a fallen Jedi. It also makes me wonder what he did that is so bad that he feels the need to distance himself. Right now he only hurt or attempted to kill family members. I know that is extremely bad, but the public doesn’t know about this as far as I know. His Sith Master is dead, he doesn’t seem to have the Sith mentality…why doesn’t he just confess all and come back to the Order and his family? This problem should be over and done with as far as I’m concerned. There is no law against training with a Sith. If his family isn’t going to press changes for assault or attempted murder, then what’s the problem?

Unfortunately, the problem is Jacen. Jacen is hiding something; he absolutely will not tell anybody why he and Lumiya met on Kavan. Until we know all the truth, how can we trust him? Since he admitted just about everything else, he must be concealing something damning. I’m not sure what it is, but I have a guess.

My brother told me that a couple days ago a plague started on Hapes and it is killing members of the Royal Family…and coincidently Kavan is part of the Hapes Consortium. Something tells me that there may be a link. I am wondering if Lumiya was trying to kill Tenel Ka. Did Jacen irritate his new ‘Master’ and she decided to punish him by killing his long time friend, the Queen Mother? It was possible.

But…if that were true, then why wouldn’t Jacen tell the Grand Master? I believe it is because Jacen knows the Hapan people and how they think. If Lumiya was proven to be the person who initiated the plague, anybody associated with her would be seen as coconspirators…meaning Jacen. Jacen would become an enemy to the Hapan people and this may affect how the Hapans treat anybody associated with Jacen to include the Jedi and even Tenel Ka herself.

Jacen must believe the news is out that he trained with Lumiya (as far as I know the public is unaware) and is hiding Lumiya’s connection to the plague to protect everybody else from Hapan retaliation, including himself. In case the truth does get out he wants to be out of the Order so there is not a backlash against the Jedi.

This is just a theory though. Unless Jacen fesses up I doubt we will ever have an answer.


Entry 133


Jacen was allowed to eat and shower that afternoon, but somebody had to guard him at all times. When I pulled my shift I had my blaster set on stun and followed him around from the dayroom to the fresher and sometimes the kitchen. He didn’t want to talk to me, but I wasn’t going to let him off that easy. He tried to kill my father and I deserved answers.

We were both sitting in the dayroom watching some crappy local holovid channel. Myrkr is awful when it comes to entertainment. There is the History Channel and another channel that plays insipid game shows. I looked over to my cousin. “I’m pretty pissed at you for shooting my dad.”

Jacen sighed as his head dropped miserably. “I already told you, I thought he was Sith. I thought I was saving my family.”

“Before that, you accused me and Jaden of being Sith conspirators. What in the Hell did I ever do to you to make you think I’d gone dark?”

I was surprised when one side of Jacen’s lips curled up in a smile. “Well, you did put a Crystal Snake in my toilet.”

I really wanted to be mad at my cousin, but I burst out laughing. “I was acting pretty Sith-like that day.”

He gave a dry chuckle before falling silent again.

“I heard your parents are on their way.”

That news elicited a moan from my cousin. I guess he’s not looking forward to facing his mom and dad.

“Dad said you are hiding something.” I paused for a long moment wondering if I should ask the question. “Jacen, did Lumiya start the plague on Hapes?”

His head popped up and he stared at me intensely. “Why would you ask that?”

I shrugged. “You and Lumiya were on Kavan. Kavan is next to Hapes and the plague started a couple days after you were captured by my dad.”

I noticed all the color drained from his face and it looked like he was going to be sick. He stood and started walking toward the exit. “Where are you going?”

“To bed,” Jacen replied.

“Jacen, if she started the plague to punish you, tell Uncle Luke. Get everything out in the open so we can put all this garbage behind us. I don’t think the public knows you trained with her…this has stayed within the family as far as I know. Confess everything and we can be a family again. I know Aunt Mara will forgive you and my dad’s already forgiven you.”

Jacen leaned against the dayroom wall as he let out a frustrated breath. I could see he was having trouble retaining his composure. “I know they will forgive me and I know they will stand by me…and that’s the problem. That’s why I can’t tell them everything.” He gazed at me intently. “Talon, haven’t you been in a situation where keeping a secret is better for everybody, even if it kills you to stay silent?”

My jaw dropped and for a moment I wondered if Jacen knew about my son. I stared at him speechless for a minute before I pulled myself together. “Yes, I have.” I sighed heavily as I ran my hand through my hair. “Fine, we don’t need to talk about this now. Come on, I’ll escort you to your room.”

We started walking down the hall and met up with my brother Jaden.

“I was just going down to relieve you,” he said.

“Jacen wants to go to his room.”

Jacen looked to me and then my brother. “You know, I’m not too sleepy. Can we watch the HoloNet some more?”

My brother shrugged. “Sure.” He lifted up his datapad. “I have a lot of reading to do anyway.”

I handed my brother my blaster. “Okay, I’ll see you in the morning.”

Jacen and Jaden returned to the dayroom and I went down to my sleeping quarters and wrote in my journal. It’s been a rough day. I think I’ll turn in for the night.

Entry 134


It couldn’t have been more than an hour later that I was jolted out of a deep sleep by my father yelling, “We have an escape!”

I jumped out of bed, pulled my trousers, boots and weapon’s belt on before running down the hall. My father was in the latrine leaning over the prone figure of my brother. He looked up to me when I entered. “He’s breathing and has a pulse. Take care of Jaden. I’m going after Jacen.”

I dropped to my knees in front of Jaden and tried to wake him up. I gently slapped his face and tried splashing water on him, but that didn’t work. My anger at Jacen began to boil over. Jaden had a big bruise on his chin and there were marks on his throat where Jacen probably used one of his classic chokeholds to render my brother unconscious. Mom was right; Jaden is a healer and not a fighter. Damn! Jacen knew Jaden was the weakest link of our group when it came to fighting and took advantage of that weakness to escape.

Ben and Jaina came running into the ‘fresher. Both of them were frantically trying to figure out what was going on. “Jacen nearly killed Jaden and Dad went after him,” I said. “Is there a first aid kit around here with smelling salts? Maybe there is something in Jaden’s medical bags.”

“I saw a medkit in the kitchen,” Ben replied as he ran back down the hall. Jaina gazed at my brother’s beaten body and then turned toward me with a haunted look.

“Your Dad went after my brother?”

I nodded and despite my anger, I felt bad for Jaina. She had to believe my father is going to really kill Jacen this time. Her brother tried to kill Aunt Mara, my dad and now he injured my brother.

“Oh kriff!” she yelled as she ran down the hall just as Ben was entering with the first aid kit.

“Where’s she going?”

I grabbed the medical bag. “She probably going to try to keep my dad from killing Jacen.”

Ben looked shocked. “He wouldn’t do that, would he?”

I emptied the contents of the medkit on the floor and spread things out to see what I had. “I honestly don’t know what anybody is going to do at this point. This entire scenario is like something from a bad suspense novel.” I found an ampoule and looked at the small writing on the side. “Ammonia Carbonate. I think this is it.” I snapped the ampoule and placed it under Jaden’s nose. After a few seconds his eyes fluttered open. He took a deep breath and immediately regretted it as he slapped the smelling salts out of my hand.

“Gods that is awful!”

I helped my brother sit up. Jaden brought his hand up to his bruised chin. “Damn that Jacen. That di’kut sucker punched me and then choked me out.”

“He’s good at that,” I said as I helped my brother to his feet and pulled his arm over my shoulder. Ben took the other side and we both helped walk Jaden to his room. I opened his medical bag and got an ice pack on his chin.

I then turned to Ben. “I assume your father knows what’s happening.”

Ben nodded. “He wasn’t in his room when I got up. I hope he’s with your dad.”

“I hope so too.”

 

Wow, what a rollercoaster ride of an update. I could sense Talon's sympathy or at least understanding for Jacen's plight and for the family as a whole. Then things get all topsy-turvy by the escape. But Jaina is really caught in the middle I'll bet, not knowing what to feel or believe.

 

lot of things are happening. Jacen should tell the truth about what he has really discovered

 

I can sympathize with Talon ' s confusion about Jacen's behavior. This is kriffed up.

 

Unfortunately for Talon he is never told the entire story, because at the end of Sacrifices only Mark knows the full story...and Mark isn't talking. Talon has his theories, but he is slightly off. At the end everybody is living in denial.