Beyond - Legends [DDC 2016] The Journal of Talon Tantiss: [Part 4] Secrets Revealed (updated 12/31/16)

Exciting update with Hanna and Valin's actions
And now what happened to dad?

 

Thanks! Dad was suffering from the Dark Force energy blast hitting him. In the Legends books 'Ship' was thousands of years old and was possibly used by the Sith Lord Naga Sadow, so it must be full of dark Force energy. Thanks for reading. You appear to be my last standing reader. I appreciate it.



Entry 30

I was surprised that my father was so forthcoming with my Aunt Mara. He told her that the Sith meditation sphere communicated with him personally through the Force because it believed he was Sith.

It is a bit disconcerting that Sith creatures—like this Meditation sphere or the Rhak-Skuri we ran into on the planet Upekzar— erroneously believe my father is a Dark Lord and obey him. I was told it is because my Dad projects a faint tinge of darkness from his temporarily possession by the Emperor Reborn. I never knew Emperor Palpatine, so I don’t detect anything amiss with my father, but Aunt Mara says it is like he has a faint copy of Palpatine’s Force signature superimposed over his.

Dad also admitted he was hit by a dark Force blast when the creature died. The Force energy rendered him unconscious, but while asleep he experienced visions. In these dreams he saw the sphere being used by a Sith Lord during an epic battle between Sith and Jedi. Dad said the battle must have occurred thousands of years ago because the lightsabers were of an ancient design with flexible cables coming out of the bottom of the hilt and attached to a power pack on the fighter’s belt.

My father ended his tale there but my Aunt pressed him for more information.

“Mark, I heard from Kyp that you were able to freeze stunbolts in midair. Did you learn that from the sphere?”

My dad shrugged. “I honestly don’t remember anything that happened in the infirmary. I remember my dreams, but not what actually occurred in that hospital room.”

She nodded and I could tell she was disappointed that my father didn’t know more. “I’m glad you weren’t injured severely in the blast. I wish we could have captured the creature.”

“No! No, you don’t,” my father said abruptly.

“Mark, we could have learned something from it.”

He shook his head adamantly. “It was too dangerous. It magnifies and focuses dark energy. In the wrong hands a person could devastate the universe.”

My Aunt Mara looked at little put out. “It would be in the hands of the Jedi. I hope you don’t think Luke or I would be tempted?”

“Why would it be in your hands,” my father asked pointedly. “It was located in Imperial space.”

Mara frowned. “Yes, but I am sure Jaina would get Jag to turn it over to the Jedi.”

My father chuckled. “The Jedi are now officially under the control of the Galactic Alliance. Turning the sphere over to the Jedi is actually turning it over to the Chief-of-State. Don’t be so sure that the Imperials would surrender a potentially devastating weapon to Mokk Streke.”

Mara lifted one firmly arched eyebrow. “I didn’t think of that.” She blew out a breath and then pointed to her datapad lying on her desk. “Any idea of the identity of our mysterious Void Jumper?”

I could see my father’s shoulders tense. “No.”

My aunt cocked her head to the side. “Why are you uncomfortable answering that question?”

My father looked away. “Why do the Jedi want to know? Whoever this is he is doing something good.”

“Mark, the man is wearing a lightsaber and is garbed in lightsaber resistant armor. And, a small army of Void Jumpers—who apparently are immune to the Force—is protecting him. Doesn’t that make you nervous?”

He let out a breath. “He didn’t hurt Hanna or Valin. Nobody even raised a blaster in their direction. Whoever it is…I don’t think he is after the Jedi.”

“Then why the phrik and cortosis armor?” my aunt asked.

My father thought about it. “The Jedi are not the only people with lightsabers. You have the Imperial Knights, Hapan Knights and Indupar is training their own Knights. Force-strong warriors are popping up all over the galaxy. Anybody with any sense would integrate saber resistant technology into their armor.”

“That may be so,” my aunt said as she leaned forward in her chair, “But, I think you are actually worried that the Void Jumper might be somebody you served with, am I right?”

My father heaved a deep sigh. “If the man is a GA trained Void Jumper there is a good possibility that I may know him.” He threw a thumb in my direction. “Or he served with Talon. There are not many VJ units and most of us know each other…at least by reputation.”

My aunt leaned back in her chair. “Can you use your contacts to see if any senior Void Jumpers have recently disappeared to parts unknown?”

My father shook his head. “I’ve been living on Indupar for almost four years. I have lost touch with almost all of my military buddies. I’m afraid I can’t help.”

Mara turned her attention to me. “How about you? Can you ask around some more?”

“Aunt Mara, I’m a Jedi. Just give me the order and I’ll obey…but I have to tell you, I am not a trained intelligence agent. Also, I just spent weeks with the 33rd Void Jumper unit on Felucia and I gave you what little intel I managed to scrounged up. I'm not an investigator. In other words, I'm no Ben Skywalker.”

She dropped her head in frustration. “Okay. Thanks for stopping by.”

My dad stood and then looked down at my aunt compassionately. “Don’t worry, Mara. The Jedi will be fine. They are trained by the best.”

She shook her head and looked up at my dad. “I don’t think that will be enough. The increasing scourge of Force-using criminals is diminishing public support for the Jedi. Some people want us to move the Temple to a less populated world. This way when Jedi-hopefuls arrive and are rejected they will go back to their homeworld. As it is now, people are coming to Coruscant, get rejected for Jedi training, and they stay here. They are usually young, uneducated and end up on government subsidies. They have become a financial burden for Coruscant taxpayers and a political headache for Mokk Streke.”

“Then move,” my dad insisted. “There must be other worlds that would love to host the Jedi.”

“After seeing the surge in crime on Coruscant since the rebuilding of the Temple…I can understand any planetary government’s reluctance.”

“I have to admit, the criminal use of the Force is rising.” My father ran his fingers through his beard in thought. “I heard the government is looking into ways to take away Force abilities from criminals. I think Jaden called it Midichlorian sterilization or Force blinding.”

“What?!” I said in surprise. “I thought Jaden said the GA doctor was studying Force heritability instead.”

“That changed after some Jedi-wannabe Force shoved Streke off the stage at a political rally. He wants a permanent solution to this problem.” My aunt propped her elbows on her desk and buried her head in her hands. “All we need is a Jedi-hating Chief-of-State in possession of an nanovirus that can take away the abilities of all Jedi.”

“Another reason to leave Coruscant,” my father muttered before opening up the office door. “I would love to stay and catch up, but I promised Jaden I would stop by the Temple infirmary and let him run a number of follow-up tests.” He chuckled. “I guess I gave Jaden a major scare on Bastion. He wants to make sure I am totally Sith free.”

My aunt waved a hand in my dad’s direction. “I’ll let you go then.”

I rose out of my seat and followed my dad out of the office. I glanced over to him as we walked to the infirmary. “Do you really think the Jedi should leave Coruscant?”

Dad nodded. “Yes, before it’s too late.”

 

Wise thoughts from dad.

Streke is no Jedi lover at all

 

Yeah, he's not a Jedi lover like I am. lol! Thanks for reading. I appreciate you taking the time to comment. I really need to get to the end of this story. It is almost the end of the year.

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Entry 31

While my dad was in the Temple infirmary getting more blood drawn I talked to my brother about this Force sterilization/blinding my father mentioned.

“Do you think it is plausible to strip a person of the Force?”

My brother sighed as he stepped closer to me. “It is not only possible,” he paused before lowing his voice to a whisper. “But I found out that while I was gone, Dr. J’Shan successfully completed human trials.”

“What?” I gasped. “Who? A Jedi?”

Jaden shook his head. “No, a prisoner.”

“Oh.” I didn’t know what to think. Prisoners shouldn’t use the Force to commit crimes, but it must be devastating to have one of your senses stripped away. “Mokk Streke didn’t tell the Grand Master he was going to human trials, did he? Isn’t he worried about how the Jedi will react to the news?”

My brother chuckled. “Oh I think he put some thought into it. The first prisoner he chose to Force-sterilize was Venku Turman.”

I pulled in a shocked breath. Venku Turman was a name I haven’t heard in a very long time. He was the Coruscanti University rapist. He possessed marginal Force abilities which he used to mind-trick women into having sex with him and then he used a mind-wipe to make them forget all about the encounter. Unfortunately for me, during the time frame he was assaulting young women I had the misfortune of escorting a very pretty, and very drunk, Coruscanti college coed named Sara Kararka back to her dorm after a long night at the dance club. I simply ensured she got back to her room safely, but as soon as I left Turman must have snuck in and attacked her. When this young woman came up pregnant she naturally assumed I took advantage of her while drunk. I had to take a paternity test to prove my innocence.

Nobody knew about this scumbag until months later when he was Force-seducing another young lady and was caught by the girl’s boyfriend. There was a vicious fistfight until the boyfriend was Force-shoved into a wall. It was then that the police realized a Force-predator was on the loose. During the fight, the sleemo left his DNA at the crime scene. Running it through the DNA databanks didn’t result in a hit, but it did reveal this unknown predator was the father of Sara Kararka’s baby.

Using Jaina Solo and Jysella Horn as bait, we ran a sting operation, which eventually resulted in the apprehension of the creep. He got a twenty-year sentence, which was not nearly as long enough, in my opinion.

“Well,” I said slowly. “It couldn’t happen to a more deserving convict.”

My brother smirked. “I am sure that is exactly why Streke picked the man. He knows the Jedi have no love for Turman. Especially after the jerk acted as his own lawyer and, claiming he was possessed by a Sith Lord, subpoenaed the Grand Master himself to testify as an unwilling expert witness on his behalf.”

“How can I forget?” I leaned against the infirmary wall and thought about the situation. “Is any of this legal? Doesn’t the Chief-of-State need some court order to do medical experiments on people?”

“I asked the same question myself.” He walked over to a lab table and picked up his datapad and pulled up an article from the Medical Law Journal before handing me the device. “He somehow had the Galactic Alliance Medical Association to establish a medical and psychiatric disease called Force-Induced Personality Disorder or FIPD. Force-users who utilize the Force for illegal and immoral reasons can be diagnosed as having this particular disease. Currently the government can compel convicts to receive psychiatric treatment if they have been diagnosed with a mental illness and they are seen as a threat to others. A psychiatrist deemed Turman as having FIPD and he was treated for his ‘disability’.”

I looked over the information on the datapad and went slackjawed. “So, the Jedi could be declared as having this disease and be treated?”

“Not without going through a process. You have to be in jail and shown that you use your abilities for violent acts. A person in jail for nonviolent crimes wouldn’t be eligible for Force sterilization.”

I showed my brother his datapad and pointed out one small detail he must have missed. “It says if the Galactic Alliance is attacked by a Force-welding army martial law can be declared and the Chief-of-State has the authorization to utilize any Force muting technique to neutralize the threat…such as Force cages, Force-cuffs or Force sterilization to ensure the safety of its citizens.”

My brother grabbed the device and read the story more closely. “It says it has to be a hostile army. The Jedi are not part of an army. We’re an Order…and organization…and we fall under the rule of the Galactic Alliance.” He looked at me wide-eyed. “Could Streke be concerned about the Imperial or Hapan Knights?” He paused for a second before the blood drained from his face. “Or the newly formed Indupar Knights?”

“I don’t know.” Now I was getting concerned. Streke has a nanovirus that can strip away a person’s Force abilities and there is an army of Force-immune Void Jumpers running around the galaxy in Lightsaber resistant armor. This didn’t look good at all. “Jaden…how was Turman given the nanovirus?”

My brother scrolled through his datapad. “It says by injection.”

“Can it infect people in any other way? Like a gas?”

Jaden shrugged. “I don’t see why not. The Hapan plague was found to be a weaponized nanovirus that was spread through the heating and air conditioning system in the royal palace.”

I cringed at my brother’s mention of the Hapan virus. Of course, I doubt Jaden has the same suspicions that I have—that our own cousin ordered the plague’s release. “Great, so the Chief-of-State could spread the virus around Coruscant and get rid of his Force-user problem permanently.”

Jaden nodded. “He could, but we work for him—we are a loyal and unique asset under his command. Why neutralize us? Just order us off the planet if he thinks we attract criminal Force-users.”

I shook my head in thought. “I don’t know. Maybe he will ask us to leave…and if we balk he has the virus as a threat. It would be one hell of a reason to get off planet.”

At that time my father walked up to us and addressed Jaden with a deep frown. “You’re lobotomy technician really is bad at his job.” He looked down at his arm where blood was drawn. “He had to poke me three times.”

My brother laughed out loud. “He’s a phlebotomy technician, not a lobotomy tech. If he was a bad lobotomy technician you wouldn’t be walking and talking right now.”

“Whatever you call him, he’s still a sadistic butcher,” my father muttered.

My brother smirked. “No, that would be a meatotomy technician.”

My father’s brow furrowed. “What’s a meat…”

“No!” I yelled at my dad. “Never ever ask Jaden the definition of medical term when he’s smirking.”

My brother gave a disappointed shake of his head. “You always ruin my fun, little brother.”

I glowed at him. “Just fill dad in on what we were talking about. I have to contact Marcus.”

As I left the infirmary I reached out with the Force, searching for my son, but couldn’t sense him. Of course, that didn’t mean my uncle or aunt couldn’t detect him. My strength in the Force is insignificant compared to that of the Grand Master or my former Master. I need to tell Marcus to return to Indupar.

 

troublesome discoveries with the Force-sterilisation.

 

Okay, I finally got back to this story after a long time away from the boards, so I re-read the whole lot and it's really amazing in its complexity! I'm ever more curious to see how all the plot lines are interconnected (because I'm sure they are) and I'm looking forward to the next couple of entries for this year as well as the sequel that I can sense coming up next year. Also, I'm curious to see how long Talon can keep his relationship to Marcus a secret from his extended family. This is really cool stuff!

 

Yeah, that cannot be good.

Thanks for reading. I have been crazy busy lately with work and school. I work 12 hour shifts that, when you add in travel, are really 13 or 14 hour shifts. It just eats up your day. I didn't even do NaNoWriMo this year because of my crazy schedule. This is getting this in right under the wire. It is short, but I need to get something posted. I doubt this will get done this month, but it should be done by January.


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Entry 32

I went to my brother’s private quarters and contacted Marcus who informed me that, “I’m not leaving for a couple of days, I have a meeting with Chief-of-State Streke tomorrow morning.”

“What?” I said over the holonet transceiver. “What for?” I cringed after I said the words. I sounded like a father talking to his son and not a Coruscanti citizen addressing the King of Indupar. I have to remember that slicers can compromise encrypted communication lines. I must always choose my words carefully.

My son must be confident in his encryption system because he did not appear concerned. “Do you remember the negotiation team I left on Coruscant to discuss the fate of the Stygium crystals found on Ec Pand?” A smug grin crossed his face. “They were at a bit of a stand still until the Chief-of-State discovered I was in orbit and that I just returned from Bastion…he then decided to settle with my negotiation team and hand over the decommissioned Coruscanti Delta Reserve Fleet in exchange for the eighty-eight metric tons of Stygium crystals we have discovered to date. I also agreed to not sell any crystals mined in the future to anybody but the Galactic Alliance for a period of twenty years. At which point we will renegotiate terms.” He smiled broadly. “I guess I was in the right place at the right time.”

‘Yeah,’ I thought sarcastically. I suspected the Seers were behind this turn of events. “That is a very opportune development, Your Highness. May I ask, did you travel to Bastion and then to Coruscant as part of some elaborate negotiation plan?”

“No.” He shook his head with a frown. “How could I? After all, it was you who requested passage to Coruscant to speak to the Grand Master. I was prepared to return to Indupar if you remember. This is just a fortuitous coincidence.”

I know that coincidences rarely happen when the Seers were involved, but Marcus was right, I asked him to bring us to Coruscant.

“Anyway,” my son continued. “Master Tantiss has to stay long enough to replace his damage cybernetic leg with a temporary prosthesis. I was told that would take at least a standard day or two. Plus you have to retrieve your Stealth X from our ship's docking bay. You can take the shuttle back with your parents as soon as they are ready to return.”

I blew out a breath. “Do you think it is ‘safe’ to be on planet?” I was hoping he realized I was not concerned for his physical safety as much as being sensed by the Grand Master and my Aunt Mara.

Marcus shrugged. “If you recall, I have been on Coruscant before…in the temple in fact. I think I’ll be safe.”

I nodded slowly knowing there is nothing I could say to change my son’s mind. “Good luck with your negotiations then, Your Highness.”

“Thank you, Jedi Tantiss. I hope to see you again soon.” With that, he cut communications.


Entry 33

Three days later my father was fitted for his temporary prosthetic leg. It was a basic below the knee system with a shock-absorbing rod connected to a carbon fiber flexi-foot. Once my father put on his boots and lowered his pants legs the only hint that he was an amputee was a slight limp.

I traveled with my parents to my son’s Frigate so I could retrieve my Stealth X. I was told the Vazy Princess would be back on Coruscant in two more days. I am staying at my brother’s quarters until then.

Entry 34

I am glad my parents and Marcus are gone from the planet. All hell broke loose today. Last month, Chief-of-State Streke was reelected for a third term and was on a victory tour around the planet. He was visiting various districts that supported his campaign and had stopped at a rally in the industrial sector. It was there, in front of hundreds of holonet reporters, somebody with a blaster rifle took a few potshots at Mokk Streke. There was a lot of commotion and Streke was tackled by his security force and forced to the ground for his protection. The masked perpetrator, dressed in all black, jumped into a skyspeeder and sped away, but not before igniting and waving around an amber lightsaber. I watched it live on my brother’s holoprojector in absolute shock. I may not be a Jedi Sentinel like my cousin Ben, but even I knew this was a mock assassination attempt. First of all, the blasterbolts didn’t get anywhere near Streke…or anybody else for that matter. Second, the supposed “Jedi” fumbled with the lightsaber like he didn’t know how to turn it on. When he finally got it ignited he almost dropped the thing. When he did get a firm hold of the weapon, he waved it around like my little niece would a toy lightsaber before flying away and ‘conveniently’ disappearing from an area that should be flooded with security personnel. I just knew Streke set this up and my suspicions were confirmed when most of the major media outlets immediately started public accusations against the Jedi. They suggested the Jedi were attempting a coup to overthrow the Chief-of-State. Stang! Couldn't they come up with a plot that didn't mirror Palpatine's denunciation of the Jedi Order right before the purge. This does not look good for the Jedi.

Surprisingly, Mokk Streke, tried to defend the Jedi saying, “Anybody can purchase a lightsaber. Please don’t jump to conclusions.”

It is an obvious attempt to deflect suspicion away from him. After all, I can’t be the only person thinking this was a set up.

My Uncle Luke and Aunt Mara are livid over the public accusations that the media is heaping on the Jedi order. I know my relationship with the media hasn’t always been the best, but in the last couple years the major news organizations have turned against the order…and I don’t know why. I assume this is the doing of the Chief-of-State, but I have no proof of this. I guess the surge of Force-using criminals has really turned public opinion. Maybe my dad is right. Perhaps the Jedi should relocate.

The Vazy Princess will dock tomorrow. Ben will probably be tasked to investigate. I imagine I will be asked to assist him. I think I will be on Coruscant for a while.

 

No Jedi-lovers at all there on Coruscant. He should be careful. Nice entries

 

Thanks. I am not where I wanted to be at this point of time. I need to write more to actually reveal the secrets. I think I will continue on with this story and not do a 2017 DDC challenge.

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Entry 35

I met the Vazy Princess when she docked at the Jedi Temple. The boarding ramp wasn’t even all the way down before I bounded up the gangplank and into my wife’s arms. Gods! It is good to be home.

After a long intense kiss she pulled away and gave me a look of concern. “What’s going on with the Chief-of-State and the Jedi?”

I shook my head in disgust. “Someone is trying to stir up bad blood between the Jedi and Mokk Streke. There was an assassination attempt and then the masked shooter activated an amber lightsaber before he jumped into an air speeder and flew away.”

I heard footsteps echoing down the ship’s corridor and looked up to see Ben walking towards me with Valla by his side. “An amber saber like the Void Jumper had in that video with the Vong Shamed Ones?”

I nodded. “I think it is the same man. I also think he’s the person attacking the slaving operations.”

Ben frowned in thought. “How are these things connected?”

I shrugged. “If the Chief-of-State was intent on getting rid of the Jedi couldn’t he just cut off our financial support?”

Ben thought about it for a while. “And risk the Jedi going over to the Empire? I don’t think so. But, do you remember that undercover video where Streke was talking to that man in the Mimetic suit? Somebody who has sway over the Chief-of-State wants the Jedi off Coruscant for some reason. I think Streke is frantically trying to make that happen without raising suspicion. A Jedi attempt on his life would help justify banishing the Jedi from the Capital planet.”

“Did you hear about the nanovirus that Streke had his scientists develop that can strip away a person’s ability to use the Force?”

“My father let me know about that before I left Bastion.” Ben closed his eyes and sighed deeply. “I’m supposed to report to his office upon arrival and discuss our response to recent events. Dad wants you there also.” He turned to his wife and kissed her on the cheek. “I’ll call you after the meeting is done and we can have dinner together.”

I gave Zylie my most apologetic expression. “Sorry, Love, duty calls.”

I don’t like all this time away from my wife. Perhaps it is time to talk to her again about settling down on Indupar and raising a family.

Entry 36

The Grand Master called together all the Jedi who worked on different aspects of this Vong/Slaver/nanovirus mystery. In attendance with me was my cousin Hanna Skywalker along with Valin Horn, Ben, my brother Jaden and Aunt Mara.

We were in one of the temple’s many conference rooms, sitting around a long table with my Uncle Luke at the head. “Let’s look at what we have discovered so far,” Luke said as he clasped his hands together on the table in front of him. “We know from the Corsec video provided by Tas Yanko that a Force-user wants us off Coruscant and is pressuring the Chief-of-State to make this happen.”

“So Streke starts spreading anti-Jedi rhetoric,” my Aunt Mara interjected. “Then he authorized the building of another wing to the Coruscanti Penitentiary—a wing consisting of Force-cage cells.”

My uncle nodded as he steepled his fingers in thought. “Later we find holovid evidence of a group of Force-void Vong soldiers training to become Void Jumpers while wearing body armor consisting of Phrik infused with refined cortosis. Armor that is impenetrable to lightsabers.”

“And finally,” Mara continued. “We discover Mokk Streke has not only authorized the development of a nanovirus that can kill midichlorians, but he has successfully tested the virus on a Force-strong criminal.”

My cousin Hanna raised a hand before adding to the conversation. “Plus, we believe the Vong jumper troopers are now being used to attack slaving operations in the outer rim.”

“So,” I asked. “What is the connection? How does an anti-slavery operation have anything to do with wanting the Jedi off Coruscant?”

Aunt Mara blew out a frustrated breath. “I wish we could figure out who the man in the Mimetic suit is. He said that he and his Master had spent a lot of time and money getting Streke into the position of Chief-of-State. Everybody knows Streke is not a fan of the Jedi. If somebody wants him in charge there has to be a reason…there has to be some anti-Jedi agenda.”

Ben shook his head. “I don’t know about that, if you recall, the man in the Mimetic suit was very adamant that the Jedi not be harmed. He just wants them out of the way.”

“And the anti-slavery Void Jumper with the lightsaber didn’t harm me or Valin,” Hanna added. “He just told me to go home.”

Ben turned to his sister. “Could the man in the Mimetic suit and the Void Jumper that talked to you be one-in-the same?”

Hanna thought about it. “You said the man in the Mimetic suit was a Force-user. The Void Jumper…I didn’t sense that he had access to the Force.” She looked over to Valin. “Did you?”

He shook his head. “No, he didn’t put up any resistance to my Force shove. Also, if you listen to the audio closely, when he was getting back to his feet, I heard him call me a ‘kriff’n spook’. Why would he use a derogatory term for a Force-user if he were a Force adept himself? No, I really doubt he can touch the Force.”

I groaned inwardly. Spook was a very common phrase with Void Jumpers. It looked more and more like this was a Galactic Alliance trained Jump Trooper.

“But there was something about him,” Hanna continued. “He felt familiar in the Force. I think I might have met him before.”

My Uncle Luke leaned forward in his seat. “Concentrate. Use the Force and try to remember.”

I could see Hanna chewing on her lip in concentration before her eyes went wide and she turned toward me. “That party your mother threw after you were knighted is where I remember him. I don’t know which man it was, but I believe he was there.”

My jaw went slack as I frantically tried to figure out who she could possibly be referring to. “Hanna, I had dozens of Void Jumper buddies in attendance. There were at least twenty or thirty men and some I didn’t even know. They were friends of my father. You would have to narrow it down a bit.”

She closed her eyes and concentrated. Without opening them then said, “I think he was at your wedding.”

I blew out a nervous breath as all in attendance stared at me expectantly. I shrugged and made an ‘I don’t know’ gesture. “There were about three or four jump troopers that attended both events.”

“Well, that’s something.” My uncle said as he leaned back in his chair. “Talon, make up a list and we’ll check out the whereabouts of those troopers and hopefully we can put a name to our mysterious Void Jumper. Now we need to identify the Mimetic Force-user…unfortunately we have been investigating the situation for months with no results.”

“There is something about that video that bothers me,” Ben said slowly. He stopped and gave a sidelong glance toward his sister and Valin before shaking his head. “No…it’s ah…never mind, it’s nothing.”

It looked like the Grand Master was going to press the issue, but decided against it. “Jaden, what is the situation with the nanovirus?”

My brother ran a nervous hand through his dark brown hair and frowned. “Not good. Streke did successfully Force sterilized one Force-strong criminal and is considering five more inmates for the procedure. There hasn’t been any pushback from the public. They are tired of being victimized by criminals with marginal Force-abilities. Ninety-nine percent of the population can’t access the Force and I don’t think they care if that number goes up to one hundred percent.”

“Can the virus only be given as an injection?” My aunt asked.

“So far,” Jaden ventured. “But I don’t see why it couldn’t be made into a aerosol or fine powder. If that happens it could possibly be distributed all over the planet via the Coruscant WeatherNet.”

My uncle groaned as he massaged his temples. “You mean to say this virus can be weaponized and distributed worldwide?”

“I don’t see why not.” My brother looked to all in the room. “I know we don’t want to pull the Jedi out when it is obvious some nefarious element wants us off planet so they can carry out some unknown plan…but how about the children? They aren’t useful in a fight. Maybe we should get them somewhere safe.”

“Where do you suggest we send the younglings?” my aunt asked.

“I’m not suggesting we move them to a second facility, but maybe to friends and family off planet. I am thinking of sending my daughter to live with my parents for a while.” My brother looked to me. “Talon, maybe you can take her on the Vazy Princess if you are heading that way.”

“Sure.”

My uncle gave up rubbing his temples and now moved to massaging the back of his neck. “I’ll take it under consideration. I suppose if the situation worsens we could make an excuse to suspend training of the young apprentices and have them return home for a short time…assuming they don’t call Coruscant home. The older apprentices I can pair up with experienced Jedi and send them off on their trials a year or two earlier than normal, but I won’t abandon the temple and let some unknown element run roughshod over the planet. Who knows what plan the man in the Mimetic suit has for the world.”

My uncle stood and pointed to me. “Talon get that list of troopers and try to track them down.” He looked to his daughter and Valin. “Hanna, you and Valin continue trying to track down the anti-slavers. If you see the man with the lightsaber see if you can safely engage him in conversation. Try to find out who he is.” He pointed to Jaden. “Keep an eye on the nanovirus situation. Let me know if anything changes.” He gave us the once over before he smiled sadly. “Let’s hope we are just being paranoid and there isn’t a dangerous element in the galaxy out to destroy the Jedi. Dismissed.”

We all started filing out of the room but Uncle Luke stopped Ben and whispered something to him. Ben turned and grabbed my tunic as I was leaving. “Wait.”

The Grand Master paused until Hanna, Valin and Jaden left the room and closed the door behind them. He then turned to his son and motioned for us to sit. “Ben,” his dad said as we took our seats. “It looked like you didn’t want to talk in front of Hanna and Valin. Is that true?”

Ben nodded slowly. “It has something to do with what happened on Myrkr. I know you didn’t want us to mention it to anybody who wasn’t there.”

“Okay,” my uncle said as he and Aunt Mara sat down and looked at Ben expectantly. “Go on.”

“In that Corsec video, the man in the mimetic suit tells Streke not to hurt the Jedi because if he falls under suspicion the Jedi would march into his office and pull the thoughts out of his brain and then make him forget it ever happened. He said he has seen a Jedi do it. What Jedi has ever done that?”

I turned my head sharply. “Whoa, Ben, I hope you are not insinuating my dad has anything to do with this.”

Ben put up a hand. “No, just hear me out.” He gestured toward his mother. “Mom, you said you’ve seen Palpatine do that. Mark said he has memories of Palpatine interrogating people and then mind wiping them with the Force.” He gestured to everybody in the room. “We’ve all seen Mark do it with Jacen when he had the run in with the darkside.”

I was getting a little irritated with Ben. “I hope you’re not implying it was me. I mean, in our little group on Myrkr only my Dad and I are big enough to be the man in the video.”

Ben groaned as he glared at me. “Will you let me finish?”

I sat back in my chair and crossed my arms over my chest. “Sorry, go on.”

“What I was getting at is the man in the mimetic suit was describing a darkside technique. The Jedi don’t do it. We are not taught it. Mark only knew how because of Palpatine’s memories.” He paused to take a breath before pushing forward. “Can we be dealing with a Sith?” Ben turned to me and quickly added. “And I’m not accusing you or your dad of being a Sith. I’m just saying the Jedi don’t do mind wipes. So maybe the man in the suit was referring to a dark force user and not really a Jedi.”

“Assuming our unknown mimetic clad man was actually telling the truth and not just trying to scare Streke,” Uncle Luke added. "If you remember we did consider the possibility of a Sith when we first saw the security vid. It is still possible, but we don't have any proof."

I looked at Ben confused. “I can see why a Sith would want the Jedi off Coruscant…but if the Chief-of-State has a nanovirus that can neutralize the Jedi why wouldn’t the Sith get Streke to use it against us. Why not just Force-sterilize the Jedi on Coruscant. If Streke simply orders us off planet we could always return and fight the Sith. And if there is a connection between the Mimetic suit man and the Vong Void Jumpers…why is a Sith trying to end slavery?”

My uncle heaved a sigh. “Those are good questions, Talon. Hopefully in the next few weeks we can find some answers. Meanwhile, I want you two investigating the lightsaber brandishing sniper who can’t hit his target…or anything else for that matter.”

My uncle and aunt stood and left Ben and I sitting at the conference table. “Do you really think a Sith is involved?” I asked.

He laughed caustically. “Well, every time things get bad for our family there seems to be a Sith around. Palpatine, the Emperor Reborn, Joruus C’baoth, Lumiya…and others.”

I laughed at his reluctance to mention Darth Jacen. “Yeah…and others.”

He stood and straightened his tunic. “I guess we have a mystery to solve.”

I nodded and stood. “I suppose we should get on it.”

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CONTINUED IN MY DDC2017: The Journal of Talon Tantiss (Part 5) Secrets Revealed Vol 2

 

Love the update with the trouble brewing. Sith, always something suspicious

 

Thanks. I wasn't going to do a DDC for 2017. I was just going to finish this story, but I realize that if I don't have reason to write I will forget to do so. So I guess I will continue this story as a 2017 DDC.

Remember to PM the Diary_Challenge_Sock to vote for your favorite DDC fanfic! Voting is open now!

 

Caught up on the last two entries!

I love how the different storylines are converging -- the Vong Jumpers, the raids against slavers, the man in the mimetic suit, the head of state's anti-Jedi paranoia... I have a strong suspicion who is behind all this, but knowing you I expect that you'll surprise me.

See you in the 2017 diary thread (and, by the way, I'm happy you decided to continue this in diary form -- I got used to Talon's voice by now, and I was going to miss it )