Beyond - Legends Darth Oedipus: A Maracen story. LotF AU, Pre-Tempest.

A plot bunny bit me last week. I had been reading a story that was full of Marakin one shots and I wondered, what would happen if the other Solo kid got substituted in? I did some thinking and have come up with something. We'll see how it goes.

The title's a placeholder for now. I may keep it but we'll see.


Prologue:

A tear threatened to crawl down Jacen Solo's cheek as he walked through the decorative halls of the opulent palace.

It all came down to this. He would be a Sith Lord, finally.

But that meant he had to make his sacrifice.

It had finally come to him; a whisper in the Force, telling him whom he had to kill to achieve galaxy saving powers.

The love of his life, the woman he had dreamt about since they were young students at the Jedi Academy.

His secret love, forced by her nobles' bigotry to keep their union a secret.

The mother of his child, a child who never knew that he was her father.

He had to kill Tenel Ka, the most important person in his life... to save everyone.

He was at the door of her private quarters now. No one had known he was coming, his shutdown technique had shielded himself from Tenel Ka, Allana and any Jedi searching for his presence. His Force flashes had blinded the cameras. Mind tricks had enabled him to sneak past many guards, and those who had not fallen for them now had their bodies tucked away in various nooks and crannies, their heads twisted at unnatural angles.

Tenel Ka whirled around at her door opened, cerulean lighsaber drawn. She paused for an instant, looking at the intruder, then quickly deactivated her saber.

"Jacen! What are you doing here?" Although she was surprised, a beaming smile grew on her face

Jacen crossed the threshold, arms wide for a loving embrace.

"I wanted it to be a surprise," he replied catching Tenel Ka as she rushed into his embrace.

They kissed passionately, all their longing and fear for each other were released as their kisses intensified.

Tenel Ka broke away slowly as she registered tears dripping on her face. But they were not her own.

"Jacen, what's wrong?" She was very concerned

"It's...nothing..."

"Is it the Guard, Jacen? I know Luke and the rest of the Jedi have been rather angry that you are leading the secret police."

"Yes. I don't know how to reconcile my duties as a Jedi and GAG leader with their expectations."

It was a bald-faced lie and Jacen was immediately ashamed of telling it. His relationship with Tenel Ka had always been underscored by the lies they had to tell to keep them and their daugher a secret. Now, at the last moments of his love's life, he was doing it yet again.

"Don't listen to them Jacen. They're controlling you, trying to get you to live your life by their rules. You're the hero of the Yuuzhan Vong War, they shouldn't hold you back."

That was another thing that Tenel Ka provided. She was his confidant. He could tell her anything and she would still love him unconditionally. His relationship with his sister had been damaged in the Dark Nest Crisis, his relationship with his parents was almost non-existant since he had killed Ailyn Vel, now Luke seemed to resent him. The only other people who trusted him were Mara and Ben, and will Luke's meddling that would surely change.

No. Tenel Ka was all he had. And because of that, she was holding him back, from his Sith destiny.

"Let's not talk about it." He pulled her close to him, their lips meeting in one final glorious moment.

Jacen deepened the kiss until it seemed as if he would take his lover off of her feet. His lips caressed her's one last time. He didn't want it to end, but he had to more she realized he was going to kill her.

His hand moved from the small of her back to her neck, pushing her deeper into their kiss. With a sudden, anguished movement, he seized the back of her neck and pulled. He drew on his agony and grief to twist.

Tenel Ka was dead.

Perhaps her last thought had been realization that the love of her life had just killed her. Jacen feverently hope