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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Beyond - Legends Second To None--Sacrifices : L/M, TK/J, J/J, OCs: COMPLETE: 3/10/2013 with Fan Art

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction- Before, Saga, and Beyond' started by Jedi_Lover, Nov 30, 2012.

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  1. Jedi_Lover

    Jedi_Lover Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2004
    smash128 thank you for reading and taking the time to comment. Things don't look to great for Jacen that had to be tough for him in the profics.

    SiouxFan : I hated the entire Jacen has a secret family also. I also never thought he would turn full Sith, but he does have Skywalker blood...somebody said to me that "Skywalkers go darkside if they run out of their favorite cereal in the morning" or something to that effect. Which seemed true for Anakin Skywalker. lol! Thanks for reading.

    Demendora : I never understood Lumiya in the profics. She seemed almost likable sometimes and then she is trying to kill Luke or somebody else. It never made sense to me as to what her motive was most of the time.

    Book-Geek Thanks. I hope this story doesn't disappoint. It is different from my other stories which are usually a straight L/M storyline. I hope I don't screw this one up. Thanks for reading.

    Hazel : Tahiri and Anakin should have had their relationship. He was a good character and he didn't deserve to die like he did. I wanted him to be happy in this fic.

    Briannakin : Han just wants his son to be happy. I know how happy Han and Leia were in the profics to find out Allana was their granddaughter. Han I think is a big softy when it comes to grandkids.

    Jade_eyes : I have always been a Jag fan and I used to hear him called Captain Cardboard over in the Literature forums by Kyp or Zekk fans. He is perfect to Jaina.

    Thanks everybody for reading. I couldn't fit any bootknocking into this chapter, but I will work on it for the next chapters.
    ___________________________________________

    Planet Algara II

    The first thing that Lumiya sensed about the person she was to rendezvous with was the foul body odor. It was a smell one would imagine would be produced if you left rotting cheese in the trunk of a speeder during the middle of the summer. It was deep putrid smell that made her eyes water and her stomach lurch.

    The large malodorous humanoid ambled down the vacant streets of the Zola mining colony on Radeon—a moon of the planet Algara II. He wore a heavy cloak with the cowl pulled down to hide his face. She could see an unkempt bushy beard peaking out from under the hood. He was tall, even for a Tof, standing over 2.6 meters and probably weighing over 150 kilograms. Tof men were either fat or muscular. This one was of the muscular variety. She could see under his cloak he was wearing the flamboyant clothing preferred by the Tof males: velvet and silk pants over knee high leather boots with large brass buckles and feathers adorning the outfit.

    “Are you the Lady of the Dark?” the man asked as he pulled back his hood to revealing green skin and deeply set black eyes common with his species.

    Lumiya nodded. “I am. Who are you?” she asked the unfamiliar Tof while looking around for an ambush.

    “I am Lieutenant Tarkkan Lorannt, assistant to General Narko Salienti. He sent me to meet you.”

    A spike of irritation coursed through her body. You don’t set up a clandestine meeting and then send somebody in your stead without notifying your contact. She shook her head. This was just par for the course when dealing with the Tof. “Fine, the General said he had a proposition for me?” She didn’t want to mince words. She needed this business over with so she could back away and take a breath of fresh air.

    The brutish Tof smiled showing a row of black and crooked teeth. “The general was contacted by an anonymous courier. The Tof were offered a warship in exchange for contacting you and delivering to you this datachip. We were told once you make contact with the person listed on the chip we will be rewarded.” He held out the datachip to her.

    Her eyes narrowed as she tried to figure out who would know her connection with General Salienti and that he would know how to contact her. Lumiya looked at the proffered datachip, but did not take it. “Who’s it from?”

    The big brute shrugged. “We do not know. The chip is encrypted.”

    Lumiya scoffed. “And how am I supposed to decrypt it?”

    “The courier said an Imperial encryption was used that would be easily decipherable by one who was once an Emperor’s Hand.”

    She didn’t like this scenario. It didn’t smell right…in more ways than one. “You’re getting a ship. What’s in it for me?”

    “The messenger said there would be a large monetary compensation for your assistance. The details are encoded within the chip.”

    Lumiya frowned but took the datachip from the Tof’s outstretched hand. “I’ll look it over.”

    The Tof smiled. “I will relay the message to the General.” With that he turned and bounded off the way he came.

    Lumiya let out a relieved breath as she backed away from his lingering stench and pulled in a cleansing lungful of air. “What am I getting into?”
    .
    .
    .

    Hapes: Royal Palace

    Tenel Ka woke up out of a deep sleep with a start. She looked around her room anxiously, but didn’t see anything amiss. She quickly rose from the bed and wrapped a robe around her and then picked up her lightsaber from its display case on the wall.

    She opened an interior door of her suite that connected to Allana’s room. She cautiously walked into the dimly lit chamber; a nightlight in a far wall was the only illumination. She went over to her daughter’s small bed and was relieved to find her sleeping soundly with a small smile gracing her face. She turned toward the battle droid that acted as a guardian and nanny to Allana and immediately Tenel Ka knew something was wrong. On the breast plate of its armor was a restraining bolt. Battle droids were not supposed to be susceptible to restraining bolts, but in the last few years a manufacturer came out with a very expensive restraining device that he boasted would work on all droid models.

    The fact that a restraining bolt was used meant the droid was probably still operational. She struggled to disconnect the device from the droid but was not successful. Tenel Ka could slice it off with her lightsaber, but that might alert any would be assassins that they were awake. She needed to get out of here…quietly. She woke up Allana, putting a hand over her mouth to keep her quiet. “Shhh, it’s mother. We need to leave. We are in danger.”

    The little girl nodded and gave a good impression of calmness, but Tenel Ka could see her daughter’s hands shaking. There was a loud banging on the door and she knew they had no more time. “Get behind me,” the Queen Mother said and then lit her lightsaber. With one fluid flick of her wrist she cut the restraining bolt off the battle droid. The machine moaned and beeped for a few seconds as it tried to reboot. Finally it came back online and rotated toward the sound of the door being pounded in. “Take care of the intruders,” she said as she scooped Allana up in her arms and headed for her closet and the secret tunnel. Of course, if this were the work of her grandmother she would know about that egress and would definitely have that exit covered.

    Since it was a fifty percent chance that her grandmother was involved she decided to go another route. She entered her closet and set Allana down. She then pushed her ball gowns out of the way and using her lightsaber she made a hole in the wall leading into the empty adjoining room. She finished the cut and pushed the duracrete plug to the other side. She poked her head through and not sensing anybody in the neighboring room she helped Allana to the other side. She deactivated her lightsaber and slipped over to the other side. She then reached through the opening and pulled the ball gowns back to they would conceal the hole in the wall. She grabbed Allana’s hand and moved to the room’s balcony.

    She could hear the battle droid firing its blasters at somebody in her quarters. Hopefully they would be surprised enough to find the droid active that they would retreat. She picked her daughter up in her arms and looked over the balcony. They were four floors up, but she was sure she could use the Force to affectively make it to the ground without injury. “Hold on,” she said to Allana as she climbed over the balcony railing. Bracing against the metal rail she decided on trying to jump to the next balcony down. Making sure her daughter had a firm grip she leapt the ten-meter drop to the balcony below. She used the Force to maneuver herself during her decent and landed softly on the deck of the lower balcony. She climbed over the railing again and made a second jump to the lower terrace until she was able to land safely on the soft grass outside.

    “Mommy, what’s happening?” Allana whispered.

    “Shhhh…it’s bad people again.” She moved to the motor pool area. For just these types of emergencies she had a backdoor key-code introduced into the entire fleet of palace vehicles allowing her access to any speeder she wanted. She opted for a nondescript armored vehicle. She put Allana into the passenger seat and then tried to drive as nonchalantly as possible out of the garage. She didn’t want to give away her position by slamming on the accelerator and racing out of the facility. “Allana get down on the floorboards and keep out of sight.” The little girl nodded and crawled under the speeder dashboard. As Tenel Ka approached the exit guard she used the Force to disguise to features to resemble one of her personal assistants. She gave the guard a casual wave of the hand as she exited the garage.

    She then headed to a safe house she had set up for such an occasion. For a second she considered Jacen’s proposal. She could abdicate and move to Coruscant and leave all this backstabbing behind. She fumed at the thought that her grandmother was responsible. It had to be her. Whoever did this probably didn’t want Allana dead, because whoever snuck into Allana’s room to put on the restraining bolt had an opportunity to kill her then. No Tenel Ka was the target. Perhaps her grandmother believed she could control Allana much more easily than Tenel Ka. With her dead Ta’a Chume would become the legal guardian of her granddaughter and she could groom her to be queen in a way more in line with the former Queen Mother’s liking.

    She needed to contact Jacen. She didn’t want him to hear about the attack and think the worst had happened.

    She just hoped he wouldn’t overreact. The last time this happened he went on his years long expedition to increase his Force power. She couldn’t bear to be away from him that long again.

    .
    .
    .


    Jedi Temple: Coruscant

    Jacen woke to the sound of his comlink going off. He looked at who was calling and it said HQMPrivate-Urgent. His stomach clinched. That was Tenel Ka code for an emergency.

    “What’s wrong?” he asked anxiously as he keyed on the comlink.

    “Assassination attempt, we’re on our way to safe house one.”

    “Injuries?” Jacen kept the conversation short and unspecific as possible in case some slicer did manage to break the encryption.

    “None.”

    “Which protocol do you want to initiate?” Jacen asked apprehensively.

    “Two.”

    Jacen’s stomach sank. That was code for ‘stay where you are’. More than anything he wanted to blast off planet and go to her, but he had learned Tenel Ka was more than capable of taking care of herself and Allana and he had to admit every one of her decisions concerning the handling of these situations were, in hindsight, spot on.

    “Affirmative,” he said slowly.

    “Thank you. I’ll contact you later.” She sounded relieved that he didn’t argue.

    He wanted to tell her he loved her and Allana, but it wasn’t wise while using electronic communications “Out,” he said as he clicked off the comlink.

    He got out of bed and paced the length of his room impatiently. There was no way he would be able to sleep until he got confirmation that the assassins were rounded up and his wife and daughter were safe.

    This wasn’t the way that any person should have to live…especially royalty. His family shouldn’t have to memorize escape routes and have safe houses throughout Hapes and the galaxy just to ensure they could live another day. Anger started to build at the thought that he had to sit here helpless while his family was in danger. He picked a book up off his desk and flung it across the room in frustration.

    “Kriff! Kriff! Kriff!” he swore, but then took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. He didn’t want to cause a ripple in the Force that could be sensed by the other Force sensitives within the temple. He sat down on the edge of his bed feeling useless. He felt blocked in every direction he wanted to pursue.

    He couldn’t be on Hapes with his family and as Queen Mother Tenel Ka couldn’t live outside of the Hapes Consortium. The backstabbing ways of the Royal were deeply ingrained into their society and there was little or no hope for reform. It wasn’t that Jacen and Tenel Ka didn’t have options. They had options, but none that Tenel Ka chose to exert. She felt a responsibility to her people and the throne and she wanted to keep her daughter safe. Therefore Jacen must stay away.

    “This is totally kriffed up,” he gave a low moan as he fell back onto the bed. For the next few hours he gazed at the ceiling silently and racked his brain for an answer.
    .
    .
    .
    Star System MZX3290S, Near Bimmiel


    Lumiya wandered around Darth Victivus’ former home deep in thought. While on Algara II, Lumiya listened to the proposal offered on the datachip. It was an assassination mission and she was contacted because of her previous close association with a former Imperial scientist named Doctor Mak Draco, the creator of the dreaded Blackwing virus. The anonymous solicitor for murder offered a million credits If Lumiya could convince Dr. Draco to engineer a nanovirus to specifically kill two Force-users and for her to deliver the virus to the target.

    She was given the location of a package delivery company on Algara II, where, as promised, a box was waiting for her under a predetermined assumed name. Inside were two vials of DNA, Galactic Alliance passports, interplanetary visas and the names of the intended targets. When she saw whom the targets were she actually laughed. It was only the most guarded people in the galaxy: Queen Mother Tenel Ka Djo and her daughter.

    The identity of the person ordering the hit was not given, but Lumiya had no doubt it was Hape’s former Queen, Ta’a Chume. The tabloids outside the reach of the Hapan government were not shy when it came to discussing the family problems and scandals concerning the royals.

    Lumiya had to admit that the former Queen was as smart as she was devious. If a known Sith was caught delivering the biological agent nobody would believe she was involved and she was positive the aging former Queen would make sure Lumiya’s presence on planet was recorded so she could ensure all fingers pointed toward a Sith planned attack. The question was, would Ta’a Chume allow her to escape Hapes or would she have Lumiya murdered to keep her silent? She was already wanted by the Galactic Alliance Guard did she really want the Hapan Consortium of over sixty planets looking to kill her on top of that?

    Of course, a million credits was a lot of money. She might be able to get up-to-date cybernetics and possibly prolong her life by a few years. That is if the planned worked. The targets were Jedi—or at least one Jedi and a young Force user and Jedi were not easy to kill. And, unfortunately for her, when a Jedi is killed, their fellow Jedi have a tendency to hunt you down like a rabid nekk and make your head lonely for its body.

    She looked around the empty room and called out for it’s former owner who still haunted the home. “Darth Vectivus. Are you here?”

    She waited for a few minutes and then called again. Eventually she could feel his dark spirit drift into the room and then coalesce into a dark shadow in the far corner of the chamber.

    “What is it that you want,” he said curtly. Lumiya gave a near imperceptible roll of her eyes. When he wanted to talk she couldn’t shut him up, but when she had something to say he always acted like she was taking him away from some great task. Perhaps he was playing sabbac with other dark spirits in the netherworld.

    “I need your advice. I was offered a million credits to convince a former Imperial comrade and geneticist to create a nanovirus to kill the Hapan Queen Mother and her child. What are your thoughts on that?”

    “I don’t know the Queen personally, but I am familiar with the Hapan Consortium. I doubt you would remain alive long enough to spend your credits.”

    “That’s what I thought. I should forget about this.”

    “I didn’t say that,” the Sith Lord said slowly. “Perhaps you could use the nanovirus in a way not intended to gain a bigger prize.”

    “Like what?”

    “To obtain an apprentice. What better way to gain the trust of a Jedi than to offer up knowledge of a plot to kill one of their greatest allies.”

    “Greatest allies…you’ve been dead for centuries; how did you know that the Consortium is now allied with the Galactic Alliance?”

    She saw the shadow shrug. “You forgot to turn off the HoloNet one night. I watched the news for hours before the programming switched to a two hour infomercial for a stain fighting cleaning product.”

    She snickered as she considered his suggestion. “Offer up the information to gain confidence.” She thought about it some more. “The current Queen Mother trained at the Academy with the younger generation of Jedi Knights. I do know Jacen Solo was responsible for the loss of her arm. Perhaps he desires to make up for that mishap. He may be open to a discussion with me.”

    “Perhaps,” Darth Victivus said. “But one doesn’t show up and announce you are taking applications for Sith apprentice. You must have a plan so he doesn’t kill you on sight.”

    “True.” She sat down as she considered her options. “I would need to convince him of the future danger…of the prophecies of the seers and what I have seen in my visions. I would also have to show him that only a leader with the power of the light and dark sides of the Force could lead the galaxy out of peril.”

    “It will be difficult to persuade a Jedi that only a Sith could save the universe…after all, we have a reputation of doing the opposite,” the Dark Lord pointed out.

    “If I could get him here I could prove to him that as a Sith he could remain on the path of good like you remained…but how do I get him here?” She gazed down at the vials in thought. “Can you teach me to do Force projections like you are doing now?”

    “I could, but why should I?”

    “I’ll leave the HoloNet on the sports channel tonight,” she offered.

    The dark form remained silent for a moment. “That would be an acceptable exchange.”
     
  2. Hazel

    Hazel Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 9, 2010
    Oh, poor Jacen - his family is once again in danger and he is barred to do anything at all. :(

    That bit about the Darth and the Holonet made me laugh. Even Dark Lords like the sports channel. [face_laugh]
     
  3. Book-Geek

    Book-Geek Jedi Knight star 3

    Registered:
    May 28, 2011
    Loved the Sith discussing the holonet.[face_rofl]

    I'm glad Tenel Ka got herself and Allana out in time. [face_relieved] Yes, TK, you should think about Jacen's proposistion and TAKE IT! You, Jacen and Allana will all be so much happier if you do!
     
  4. smash128

    smash128 Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Feb 9, 2008
    Liked the bit with sports channel, I guess even the Sith need some good old holonet entertainment once in awhile. :p

    Glad that Tenel Ka and Allana made it out, also I feel for Jacen's frustration at unable to do anything. Oh what Lumiya is planning doesn't sound good for Jacen, especially if she plays on his despair at on trying to help and protect Tenel Ka and their daughter :(
     
  5. RedGold

    RedGold Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 29, 2004
    You really took this story and just went with it... :D really digging it! :)
     
    Jedi_Lover likes this.
  6. Briannakin

    Briannakin Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Feb 25, 2010
    For some reason the tag didn't work for me. Stupid boards.

    Anyways, great chapter. I can't believe you have me feeling bad about TK's and Jacen's situation. Loved the bit about the sports channel. Man it would suck being a dead sith.
     
  7. ginchy

    ginchy Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 25, 2005
    Grrrrr, stop making me feel sorry for Darth Loser. :p
     
  8. SiouxFan

    SiouxFan Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 6, 2012
    Ummm....why do I get the feeling that the attempt at the Palace and the bounty offered to Lumiya are independent of each other? Since Ta'a Chume is hiring a Sith Lord to kill both Tenel Ka and Allana, why would she hire another assassin to kill only Tenel Ka? Why do I get the feeling something bigger is afoot?

    And where did whomever it was find this first one, at the local Target? This assassin gets in to one of the best defended buildings in the galaxy, immoblilizes a battle droid (something that, as you said, is almost impossible), but doesn't see the connecting door between Allana's room and Tenel Ka's? Oi! ***facepalm***

    "...we have a reputation of doing the opposite." JL, I find myself really enjoying Vectivus' and Lumiya's banter. Is it wrong to like your two Sith?

    "This is totally kriffed up." Yes, Jacen it is. I understand Tenel Ka's reasoning for wanting to stay as Queen Mother, but it does seem to me that she is risking Allana's life unnecessarily. Tenel Ka shouldn't have to live in fear, but she has to know that the plots are not going to stop in the short-term. If it is true that Ta'a Chume was behind this first attempt, how long is Tenel Ka going to tolerate the old bat? How many times did she try to kill Teneniel? Forget trying to prove anything, find a way for the old woman to have an 'accident'.

    The other option: there are ways to hide Allana in plain sight if she wanted. (In fact, she did in FotJ.) I like TK a lot, but there are times where I thought her to be stubborn to the point of foolishness. There is a difference between bravery and stupidity.
     
  9. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    =D= Great post showing the sithishness of the other side ;)
     
  10. Jedi_Lover

    Jedi_Lover Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2004
    Thanks ginchy, Briannakin, smash128, SiouxFan, Hazel, Book-Geek and RedGold for reading. This is a much more difficult story to write than my normal L/M bootknocking mush. That is why it is taking so much time to get updates out. I do want to thank you for taking the time to read and review. I really appreciate it.


    ~JL~

    ____________________________________________________________________


    As Tenel Ka pulled up to the safe house she was immediately on edge. Something didn’t feel right in the Force. She drove by the residence slowly, but did not stop. She had decided to move to safe house two when she heard shots ringing out and blaster fire ricocheted off the roof and side door panels. Allana called out in alarm and, like most children without a clear sense of danger, immediately went to look out the window to see what was happening. Tenel Ka pulled her away from the side window. The transparisteel was blaster resistant, but not guaranteed to stop every weapon.


    “Get down,” Tenel Ka yelled over the din of blaster fire. She stepped on the accelerator and sped off at a high rate of speed. She thought she was out of the kill zone when a high power blasterbolt hit the speeder with such force it took out the entire engine block and knocked the vehicle upside down.


    The impact was violent and she was momentarily stunned as she hung upside down in her webbing restraints. Her head hurt and she could feel blood trickle from her forehead where it smacked the side window. She could hear Allana crying. “Shhh,” the Queen Mother said as she unbuckled her daughter and used the Force to lower the child out of her seat. “We have to get out of here,” Tenel Ka said as she unstrapped herself from her seat restraints. “Are you hurt?”


    The little redheaded girl shook her head as tears streamed down her face. Tenel Ka reached out for her daughter. “Come here, we are going to have to make a run for it, but first it is time to call in back-up.” She pressed a series of buttons on her wrist chrono that would send her location and an emergency call for help to an elite group of soldiers within her military. She was always reluctant to call for assistance because she never knew who she could trust, but the situation was dire. As soon as she was sure the distress call was transmitting she turned to her daughter. “You ready?”


    The child nodded and followed her mother as she opened the driver’s door and they crawled out. Blaster fire rained down on them, but they were partially protected from the overturned speeder. ‘Until they decide to use the big gun again’ Tenel Ka thought glumly. She knew portable weapons of that size needed time to power back up, but it should be ready to make the killing blow within a minute or two. They needed to leave now.


    She popped up from the speeder with ignited lightsaber in hand and started deflecting the weapons fire. “Get behind me, Allana.” The little girl obeyed. Tenel Ka took her eyes off the shooters for a split second to check the alley behind her. She was relieved that it wasn’t blocked off, but went to another side street. “We are going to go down that alley. When I give the word I want you to run.”


    “Okay mommy,” the frightened child was trying to sound brave, but her mother could feel her underlying fear. She continued to block the blaster bolts and was successful in redirecting them back to the shooters. She heard one cry out from the rooftop. The second shooter must have ducked down for cover because he stopped shooting momentarily. “Now, run.”


    Allana broke out in a sprint down the alley followed closely behind by her mother who was still blocking blaster fire from the rear. She couldn’t believe the police hadn’t been called yet. The safe house was in a nice neighborhood, not the place where law enforcement would fear to tread.


    Tenel Ka felt a flash of danger through the Force she spun around to where her daughter was running just in time to see a dark figure raise up from behind a dumpster and discharge a blaster point blank at the little girl. Allana screamed out and crumbled to the ground. “No!” the Queen cried out as she deflected two more blasterbolts from the shooter before she spun her saber down on him disconnecting his head from his body. The head tumbled into the dumpster before his body slouched to the ground in a heap. Tenel Ka immediately turned her attention to her daughter. “Allana, talk to me,” she begged as tears ran down her cheek. The young girl groaned as he eyes fluttered open. “Mom…”


    Tenel Ka put pressure on the wound site to stop the flow of blood. “Yes, Honey.”


    “I need a lightsaber of my own if this keeps up.”


    Tenel Ka couldn’t help but give a relieved laugh. If Allana was cognizant enough to joke then she probably would pull through. The distinctive engine drone of a modified Armored Personnel Carrier could be heard overhead along with the whine of police sirens in the distance. Suddenly the ground trembled as five large men in Void Jumper armor and jet packs landed around her and Allana.


    “Rodders, Jenkins sweep up the alley,” a large man with officer rank barked out commands then turned to the other two soldiers. “You two secure this side.”


    Above them there was the deafening roar of the APC’s double blaster cannons firing at an unknown target in the distance. The Officer bent down next to the Queen and her daughter. He pushed a button on the side of his helmet raising his face shield. A middle aged man with a weathered face but with kind eyes looked down at the injured child. “It doesn’t look like any vitals were hit.” He glanced up to Tenel Ka and gave her a disapproving look. “You should have called us in immediately!” He shook his head in frustration as he keyed his comm. “Get ready for hot extractions. Have the medic prepped. We have injured.” He stood and called out to his men. “Rodders, get the Queen out of here.”


    Tenel Ka scooped Allana up in her arms and held her out to the soldier. “Commander Tavik get her to safety.”


    “I will guard her with my life,” the senior officer said as he gently took Allana in his arms and without preamble fired his backpack boosters and shot up in the air. Tenel Ka watched as her daughter disappear into the night sky when a pair of armored arms wrapped around her waist. “I apologize for touching your highness, but we need to leave,” the void jumper said before activating his rocket pack and propelling them both upward, hopefully to safety.

    .

    .

    .

    Jedi Temple: Coruscant


    Jacen anxiously waited for Tenel Ka to call him back to let him know she and Allana had made it to the safe house unharmed. It had been hours with no word. He hadn’t slept since he was informed of the assassination attempt and he knew there was no way he would sleep until he knew they were out of harm’s way. He decided he would meditate and try to reach her through the Force, to touch her presence and hopefully find out what happened.


    He sat on the floor, legs crossed and with his hands on his knees. He took a couple soothing breaths before he let himself drop deep into a meditative state. He reached out searching for answers but could not feel Tenel Ka or Allana. That was not unexpected. They were located across the galaxy from each other.


    He fell deeper into the flow of the Force and felt his mind flowing, moving –whether it was into the future or the past he did not know. He learned flow-walking from the Aing-Tii Monks during his journey of discovery, but he wasn’t flow-walking right now. He was being pulled somewhere, somewhere dark and grim. The blackness of his mind’s eye lifted momentarily and he caught a glimpse of a large throne where a small figure sat. Jacen could not see the person’s features but the size and frame led him to believe it was a small girl. From under the upraised cowl flowed long reddish gold hair.


    Jacen reached out toward the girl. “Allana?”

    The child didn’t appear to see or hear him. Jacen was startled when he saw fearsome tentacles slither up and around the base of the throne. The small child stood and walked away from her chair before the tentacles engulfed the seat of power. From behind the throne two large humanoid creatures appeared and each placed a foot upon the withering tentacles. They were of a species unfamiliar to Jacen, but they were terrifying in appearance. Both were muscular, covered with tattoos and with faces horribly disfigured and scared; their heads were hairless, missing the cartilage of their noses and lacking lips making them look like living skulls. The two humanoids raised what looked like fighting staffs before they made a grisly, soul shaking shriek of anger.


    The sound jarred Jacen out of his trance. He was sitting on the floor of his quarters shaken and sweating profusely. He needed to get back and find out if that was his daughter. He tried to drop down back into the flow of the Force but he was having difficulty doing so with his heart pounding.


    He took deep calming breaths and used the Force to quiet his racing heart. He decided to try to contact his wife and daughter again...to reach across the galaxy and touch them so he would know they were alive. He closed his eyes and extended his Force senses out searching. Eventually he felt a presence approach, but it was not his wife or daughter. Some other Force-strong presence was now in his room.


    He opened his eyes only to see his Grandfather, Darth Vader, looking down at him. The Dark Lord’s chest rose and fell silently. There was no rasp of the ventilator that his mother and Uncle Luke often described. Jacen wasn’t sure if he was dreaming, hallucinating or having a Force vision, but he wasn’t taking any chances. He quickly stood and dived across his bed where his lightsaber was sitting on an end table.


    “Stop,” the figure commanded in a low bellowing voice. “I am not here to hurt you, but to warn you.”


    Jacen disregarded the words and ignited his lightsaber the light of his green blade bounced off the bed chamber walls. The figure in front of him did not react, but shimmered like a bad holorecording before it transformed to the image of Anakin Skywalker. He was young with light brown shoulder length hair and wearing full Jedi robes. “I would have initially shown myself as I appear now, but did not believe you would recognize me.”


    Jacen kept his saber at on guard position. “What do you want?”


    The image gave a warm smile. “I am here to warn you. There will be an assassination attempt on the Queen Mother of Hapes and her daughter.”


    Jacen gave a caustic laugh. “You are a little late for that warning, Grandfather.” He dragged out that last word with a sarcastic edge. “My wife and daughter were already attacked and escaped.”


    Anakin Skywalker’s brow furrowed looking confused. His mouth opened and then closed again. His eyes narrowed and gave Jacen a questioning look before he spoke again. “This is a different attack. An attack that has yet to occur, Your…wife and child…are in great danger.”


    Jacen shook his head. “Their lives are always in great danger. I can see being one with the Force gives you a great grasp of the obvious.”


    The image of the former Jedi turned Sith lord actually looked perplexed. “Jacen, the future attack will succeed unless you do something about it. You need to protect your family.”


    Jacen turned off his saber so he could hear the man better. He could not sense in the Force anybody physically within the room, therefore he was certain this was either a vision or an apparition. “Go on.”


    A slight smile crossed Anakin’s face. “Go to the planet Lorrd in the Kanz sector. There you will meet one I trained long ago.”


    Jacen looked at him suspiciously. “Someone you trained as a Jedi or as a Sith?”


    “She is a Former Emperor’s Hand, but she no longer serves the darkside…although Ta’a Chume is not aware of that when she was approached to kill your family. She wants to give the information to you. Go to Lorrd City and she will find you.”


    Jacen shook his head. “This sounds very suspicious and convenient. My redeemed Sith grandfather shows up to tell me to meet up with another Sith because she wants to do a good deed. And there are only a few Emperor’s Hands. I doubt you are talking about my Aunt Mara…so I assume you are referring to Lumiya.”


    “Yes,” the words came out slowly. “If she came to you without announcement you would attempt to kill her on sight…and then your wife and daughter would die. You have a duty to your family. Don’t fail as I once did.” The image of Anakin Skywalker shimmered and then faded from the room.


    Jacen knew it was a trap. He knew it with every fiber in his being, but if there was some credence in the story he owed it to Tenel Ka and Allana to find out what this new threat was. He definitely wasn’t helping his family’s defense by sitting in a room and meditating.


    He was going to Lorrd.
     
  11. Briannakin

    Briannakin Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Feb 25, 2010
    Uh oh. Poop is going down! Great action filled update.
     
  12. Hazel

    Hazel Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 9, 2010
    Wait, Vader just told Jacen to go to Lumyia? I'm :confused:.

    And yes, that was a great action sequence =D=
     
  13. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
  14. Book-Geek

    Book-Geek Jedi Knight star 3

    Registered:
    May 28, 2011
    Ah, poor Allana got hurt.[face_worried] But she is definetly Jacen's daughter (and Han's granddaughter) if she just looked death in the face and promptly made a joke after.[face_tee_hee]

    Don't worry, Jace, your old granddad won't steer you wrong! At least, I hope he won't. *bites lip nervously*
     
  15. SiouxFan

    SiouxFan Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 6, 2012
    Only a Solo can crack a joke after getting shot, but Allana got seriously lucky. Tenel Ka really needs to get her off of Hapes; and get her a lightsabre.

    It's good to know that it is possible to surprise a Sith on occasion. 'Vader' seemed just as surprised by this other attempt on Tenel Ka as Jacen was. 'Vader' guessed correctly about Tenel Ka and Jacen; maybe Jacen can use the fact that Lumiya now knows the truth as leverage to get Tenel Ka to see wisdom and start telling people the truth. It does take a village to raise a child, even more so when she is getting shot.

    At least Jacen is smart enough to know that he is being set up. 'The enemy you know...' I'm a tad creeped out about his vision of Allana with the Vong; apparently they weren't as defeated as we thought.

    Merry Christmas everyone!
     
  16. Jedi_Lover

    Jedi_Lover Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2004
    Thanks Hazel, SiouxFan, Briannakin, Book-Geek and Jade_eyes for reading and taking time to review. I had wrote out long responses to your comments and then my computer announced to me "Closing Windows Now". And I am like, "What! Don't close windows!" I swear Callista is living in my computers and is having an affair with the a Best Buy Geek Squad guy. Anyway, let me get this update out before it decides to shut down again. Hopefully this chapter will clear things up a bit.
    __________________________________

    Dragon Queen-Flagship of Queen Mother Tenel Ka Djo
    Location: Transitory Mists


    Tenel Ka stood silently next to the infirmary bacta tank where her daughter floated, breath mask attached to her face and clothed in a hospital smock to maintain her modesty. The infirmary head physician, an elderly man with grey hair and a receding hairline, came up to the Queen with datapad in hand. He gave the Queen Mother a warm smile. It was the type of smile that projected a calm and reassuring mask of confidence, but rarely was an accurate indicator of the patient’s true condition.

    “Your Majesty, the Princess will be fine. No vital organs were damaged and she is responding well to the bacta treatment. You, on the other hand, have not slept since you arrived on ship. As your physician I would recommend you take some time to rest.”

    She glanced over to the doctor and gave him a forced smile. “Thank you Doctor Hophman, I will take that under advisement.”

    The doctor nodded and retreated down the hall.

    “You should go your Highness,” a voice rang out from behind her. She turned to find the commander of her personal defense force standing in the doorway. He remained garbed in full armor except for his helmet which he held under one arm.

    “I still don’t feel comfortable leaving her, Commander Tavik. I don’t know who to trust.”

    “I’ll guard the Princess,” he reassured her.

    The Queen stared at him for a moment in quiet contemplation. “As I said, I don’t know who to trust.”

    The older man laughed. “Your Highness, you wound me.” He put his helmet down on a gurney as he leaned against the ship bulkhead and grinned. “How can you not trust your personal security force? We’re the 25th Foreign Few! The Untouchables.”

    Tenel Ka rolled her eyes. Her personal security Force consisted entirely of non-Hapan warriors—men and women who once served the New Republic and later the Galactic Alliance military—soldiers with no ties to the various royal families on Hapes. Having non-Hapan security prevented betrayal based on family loyalties, but not from bribes of money and power. “Nobody is untouchable.”

    Commander Tavik took off his gauntlets and then ran his hand though his graying blond hair. “True, but I trust my men with my life and I thought you trusted me with yours and your daughter’s.” He took a step toward the bacta tank and gazed sadly at Allana floating unconscious in the healing fluid. “I don’t know how you tolerate living under these conditions.” He turned to the Queen. “Can’t I just go kill the people that want you dead? I promise to be discrete.”

    The Queen scoffed. “Do you intend on killing the entire royal family? Because it looks like they are all gunning for me now. I’m not sure what brought on this increase of assassination attempts.”

    “What?” Commander Tavik said incredulously. “You don’t know? I can tell you… and it has everything to do with your visitor a week-or-so ago.”

    She frowned. “Jacen Solo? What about him?”

    The man threw up his hands in a disbelieving gesture. “The royals think you are going to hand over the leadership of the Consortium to spooks,” he grimace when he realized what he said. “I apologize, your Highness…to the Jedi.”

    Her brow furrowed. “Why would they think that?”

    “Everybody knows about Luke Skywalker declaring himself Jedi Grand Master and pledging the Jedi’s allegiance to the Galactic Alliance. They also probably know he made a call to all Jedi to swear loyalty to the Jedi order…that the order should rank above all other personal obligations.”

    Tenel Ka’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t believe that is public knowledge, Commander Tavik.”

    “It’s also not classified knowledge. The Grand Master didn’t swear the Jedi to secrecy…and I have Jedi friends…believe it or not.” He walked away from the bacta tank and leaned back against the bulkhead. “It’s true, isn’t it?”

    “Yes, but I resigned my place in the Jedi. I could not subordinate myself to the order or to the Galactic Alliance.”

    The soldier nodded his head. “That’s good, but your people don’t know it. There are rumors going around and I am fairly sure that is why everybody and your Grandmother are now trying to kill the Jedi Queen and her daughter.”

    She drew in a deep breath and let it out. “I shall make a public statement on the matter.”

    The man nodded. “Good, now go get some sleep.” He nodded toward Allana. “I’ll keep her safe.” When Tenel Ka did not move the man gave her a disappointed look. “Your Highness, if you’re unsure of my loyalty do your Jedi magic and look into my brain or whatever you do to make sure I am not going to betray you.” He spread his arms out wide. “I am an unencrypted datapad. You have my permission to probe me.” He gave her a wink. “Just don’t tell my wife.”

    She shook her head. “I cannot believe the disrespect you show the crown.”

    He gave a cocky grin. “That is because I am your employee, not your subject. You can fire me if you like.”

    “No, I need you to watch Allana.” She turned to leave. “I will be in my quarters. Call me if there is a change in her condition Commander.”

    The man nodded with a smile. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

    .

    .

    .

    Star System MZX3290S, Near Bimmiel

    Lumiya broke contact with Jacen Solo. She had been using the dark side empowered projection she learned from Darth Vectivus, or as he called it ‘phantoms’, to trick Solo into thinking he was talking to his Grandfather, Anakin Skywalker. She was trembling at the mental exertion and tight control of the Force she had to utilize to pull off such as difficult task.

    She had been sitting on the ground in a meditative posture, but now flopped down to the floor exhausted.

    “Were you able to contact him?” she could hear Darth Vectivus’ voice from a dark corner of the room.

    “Yes and I discovered some very interesting information. The Queen mother is not just a close friend of the Jedi…but his wife. Jacen Solo is the father of Princess Allana of Hapes.”

    “Indeed,” the voice said sounding mildly surprised. “That is a very fortunate for you. That should make your job much easier. Attachment was forbidden for the Jedi for a reason. The Jedi want the order to be top priority. If they have families, the Jedi Order usually came second to their loved ones.”

    “Hopefully when I meet up with him I can convince him of his destiny.”

    “And what exactly is his destiny?” The Sith Lord asked.

    “I want to convince him there is an evil approaching and only a master of the unifying Force—a person who sees the Force as a means to an end—can save the universe from the hardship that awaits it.”

    The Sith Lord was silent for a moment. When he responded it was with a contemplative tone. “Lumiya, your motives are admirable, but the future is always in motion. Often when one tries to change the future one sees in a vision, they only end up ensuring its fruition.”

    Lumiya thought about it for a while. “Maybe I have a second motive, one less venerable.”

    She could see the ghostly aberration shift his head toward her. “Which is?”

    She frowned. “You had a family and children—people who remember you. Somewhere in the galaxy your legacy lives on. It lives in the blood and memory of your ancestors and though me and your teachings. I don’t have children. My reproductive organs were destroyed along with a few other important parts of my body when my spacecraft was shot down by Skywalker. I don’t have anybody to carry on my bloodline or pass on my knowledge too.” She stood up and walked toward the shadowy Dark Lord. “It is so finite. When I die, I will become nothing but a memory and soon that will also fade from existence.”

    “Unless you have an apprentice,” the Dark Lord ventured a guess, “Somebody to pass on what you have learned.”

    “Yes.”

    Darth Vectivus gave a sinister chuckle. “Your Sith biological clock is ticking.”

    Lumiya scowled. “Sometimes you can be an insufferable lout!”

    He laughed again. “True, I claimed to be a Sith who is not evil. I never said I wasn’t a snarky sleemo.”

    She made an obscene gesture in his direction and then walked to her room. “I need to pack. I’m going to Lorrd.”
     
    Jade_eyes likes this.
  17. Book-Geek

    Book-Geek Jedi Knight star 3

    Registered:
    May 28, 2011
    Dang it! I was wrong, very, very wrong about the 'ghost' of Anakin!:oops:*bangs head against the wall* Why was I foolish enough to believe Anakin would send his grandson to a Sith Lord? Sith Lady? What exactly do we refer to female Sith as?:confused: Jacen. DON'T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE I MADE! Run for it, dude, back to Tenel Ka! Kidnap her and Allana if you have to, just don't go to Lorrd!

    And, he's not going to listen to me, is he?[face_sigh]We shall see how this goes.[face_nail_biting]
     
  18. Hazel

    Hazel Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 9, 2010
    I think Callista is trying to get you because you never let her keep the Farmboy :p ;).

    It was great to see Tavik here. TK could use a little lightness.
    But - oh-ho - Lumiya is closing in on Jacen and I fear the outcome. [face_nail_biting]
     
  19. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    LOL Hazel - too bad for Callista :p And as for Lumiya [face_thinking] we all want a nondarthy Jacen eventually so it may be edge of seat now but -- here's hoping for a good-guy triumph.
     
  20. Briannakin

    Briannakin Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Feb 25, 2010
    Hehehe. Darth Vectvivous is sassy! So people know about Jacen's visits? I hope this will turn out to be good and not bad.
     
  21. Jedi_Lover

    Jedi_Lover Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2004
    He goes there on official visits but hides the fact that he sneaks into Tenel Ka's private quarters. That is why the Solo family all knew he was on Hapes when he was at his family dinner. He went there on official orders from Luke. Tenel Ka makes sure his visits are official and known so it doesn't look like he is sneaking around. It is like hiding him in plain sight.

    To be honest I never really understood Darth Vectivus and Lumiya's motives in the novels. She is professing that she cares for the Skywalker Family, Jacen and the galaxy, but then she is doing Sithy stuff all the time which counters everything she says. She is telling Jacen he can be a good guy and be Sith but at the same time she is thinking he has to make a sacrifice to pull him over to the darkside completely. I don't know if I missed something in the novels or what? It is hard to keep all the storylines straight when there are a dozen novels to contend with and they are written and released over a year or two.
     
  22. Briannakin

    Briannakin Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Feb 25, 2010
    Oh. Okay

    And yes, it is hard to keep some of the latest ( Lotf stuff in particular) straight. And the three author thing never helped. In one book Lumiya was best buds with Alema and in the next, for no reason, she tells Alema to scram. I may have missed something but I know I am not the only person to find the characters in lotf inconsistent.
     
  23. Jedi_Lover

    Jedi_Lover Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2004
    Thanks Book-Geek, Jade_eyes, Briannakin, and Hazel for reading. When I was writing this story I thought I had no plot, but now I realize I have too much plot. I am not good at non-mush stories. This is the hardest fanfic I have ever written. I hope you guys will stick with me. I am desperately trying to edit the story down from the 50K NaNo I wrote. I am also writing this and thinking..."Jacen, don't be stupid...he can't be this stupid!" But at the same time I know he was that stupid. In fact I am writing him less stupid. :_| He was such an idiot in the profics. What a waste of a great character.

    Anyway, I really appreciate you guys reading and taking the time to comment. Thanks!

    ~JL~
    _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

    Chiss Space

    Jagged Fel entered the detention facility of his Capital Ship the Star Destroyer Tenacious. He stutter stepped as he entered the hallway leading to the interrogation rooms. A pungent odor reminiscent of defecate and perspiration permeated the air. As he moved closer to his destination the smell became stronger until his stomach started to lurch and his eyes water.

    Lieutenant Roulth, his senior interrogator exited the room at the end of the hallway and gasped. Upon seeing his commander he popped to attention. “Commander Fel. The prisoner is in the interrogation room as ordered.”

    Jag’s handsome face screwed up with a nauseous expression. “Please tell me you intimidated him so much that he soiled his pants.”

    The Lieutenant shook his head as he ran a hand through his salt-and-pepper hair. “I wish that was the case sir. It appears we have picked up the most overpowering Tof warrior in the Firefist galaxy.”

    Jag grimaced. He hated dealing with the Tof. He found them disgusting. They were undisciplined, bad mannered and had the worst hygiene of any species in the galaxy. The Tof leader they had in the detention room was found in command of a Old Republic era battle cruiser and the Chiss and Empire were curious as to who was providing weapons to them. “Did he tell you where he acquired an Old Republic warship?”

    “No, we used low level persuasive techniques first, sleep deprivation, isolation, temper variations within his cell, but he is defiant. Should I bring out the Interrogator droid?”

    Jag thought about it for a moment. “Try to stay within the Galactic Alliances rules regulating the treatment of prisoners. I don’t want to be the officer that does something to run counter to our treaty.” Jag’s eyes closed to narrow slits. “What I do want you to do though, is get him into a restraint chair and wheel him down to the shower and get him cleaned up. If he’s not going to cooperate then I see no need for us to tolerate his wretched body order.”

    “Yes sir,” the Lieutenant said with a curt bow of the head before doing an about-face and returning to the interrogation room.

    Jag brought his sleeve up to his face and tried to filter out the stench entering his lungs. He then went to return to his cabin to change and shower. Every time he was around Tof warriors he felt contaminated by their horrendous smell.
    .
    .
    .

    Planet Lorrd: Kanz Sector

    Lorrd City, the capital of Lorrd was an incredibly beautiful municipality with fountains, parks and plenty of universities. It was a cultural center of the planet that valued higher learning. Jacen reached out with the Force looking for Lumiya, but so far he had yet to detect her dark presence. When somebody cleared their throat from behind him he was so startled he almost went for his saber.

    “Calm down,” a veiled woman said to him coolly.

    Jacen immediately realized this was Lumiya. She was petite in height like his Aunt Mara and although her face was veiled, he could see her piercing green eyes glaring at him and graying redhair flowing out from under her hat. He wondered if all of the Emperor’s hands were green-eyed redheads. “I can’t sense you with the Force.” Jacen looked at her but didn’t see any ysalamiri on her person or nearby. He then realized that she couldn’t be using ysalamiri because he could still feel the Force flowing through him…he just could not sense the Force within her.
    “There is at least one additional Jedi within Lorrd City. I do not wish my presence to be known. That could make things difficult for both you and I.” She turned and started walking away. “Come with me. I have a ship in the nearby docking bay.”

    Jacen gave her a cold defiant look, not trusting the woman. “I decided to meet with you, but I never agreed to go anywhere with you.”

    She stopped and turned. “I don’t have time to argue. Your wife and daughter don’t have time either.”

    Jacen shook his head but found himself falling in step next to her. “How did you find out about my family?”

    She shrugged. “Your grandfather told me. He didn’t want his great granddaughter perishing. He is a bit of a softy when it comes to family.”

    His eyes hardened with resistance. “Ha,” Jacen said sarcastically. “He tortured my mother, his own flesh and blood and then chopped off his son’s hand. That doesn’t sound too soft to me.”

    The gaze in her green eyes softened. “He was a different man back then. He has been trying to make amends.” She stopped when she realized he had slowed his pace. “Either come with me or don’t.”

    “How about I pull out my lightsaber and arrest you for being a murderous Sith?”

    “You could, but you won’t. You’re curious and I can sense in you great frustration. Wouldn’t you like to make this galaxy right? There are great evils out there. I have seen them in my meditations. I’m sure you and other Jedi have felt the shift in the Force. There will be pain, anguish and despair. Billions of people will suffer and the fate of all sentients will be in danger.” She gazed at him intently. “The galaxy will need a leader in place that can make the hard decisions. Someone who can fight off the newest enemy, without regard to ends and means. For the galaxy to survive we need a ruler with a backbone.”

    “And I suppose that leader would be you?” Jacen asked scathingly.

    “No, this is beyond my abilities, but I have looked for such a leader. Your Uncle Luke is too immersed in Jedi codes and rules. His children have the same mentality. Your Aunt Mara may have the tenacity and fortitude to lead, but she won’t go counter to her husband. That left me with you or your siblings. Of all of them you look the most level headed.”

    “I am just like my Uncle,” Jacen protested but continued walking by her side. “I have studied the Jedi code all my life. I doubt you can make me falter.”

    “I’m not here to make you evil, Jacen.” Lumiya said defensively. “I have too much respect for your family. Your mother suffered greatly under the hands of Grand Moff Tarkin and your Uncle Luke has been fighting for a better galaxy since he joined the Rebellion. And your Aunt Mara…well…we started out the same way. We both served Palpatine, but she got some lucky breaks I was not afforded.”

    Jacen made a scoffing sound, but Lumiya pressed on.

    “It’s true. After Skywalker shot me down my identity was revealed. I became a hunted woman, an enemy of the Rebellion. Mara Jade was also a hunted woman, but she was hunted by Ysanne Isard, the Director of Imperial intelligence. When the Rebels were victorious, Isard was dead but I still had a price on my head. Mara Jade could start over thanks to Skywalker and the Solo’s vouching for her. Nobody was there for me. I am more of a victim of the war than the villain.”

    “Oh, my heart breaks,” Jacen said sarcastically. “You could have gone to some rimworld planet, got a job and stayed under the radar like a billion other former Imperials.”

    Lumiya sighed. “I could have, but I didn’t and I regret it. Maybe I am trying to redeem myself before my life ends.” She turned to him ever slightly. “Half of my body is cybernetics and the other half is not functioning the way it should. I have an artificial liver and that never can work as well as the real thing.”

    “So you are dying?”

    “Yes,” Lumiya said.

    “Good,” Jacen replied.

    She glowered at him but did not respond.

    Jacen followed Lumiya back to her ship all the time thinking this was a very stupid idea. He had absolutely no cause to trust her. The only reason he came to Lorrd was because of the Force vision he received from his Grandfather. He now wondered if that had been real or not.

    While he was on his quest of knowledge he learned from the Fallanassi how to do what they called the ‘mirror illusion’. He could project an illusion where the specifics were filled in by the mind of the victim. Could Lumiya have done that to him? Could she have sent the illusion of his grandfather and the contents of the message turned to his family because that is what he had been meditating about previous to the encounter?

    Or could have his grandfather felt his troubled soul and actually came to help?

    He could ask Lumiya, but he doubt he would get the truth until she got him to follow her to wherever she wanted him to go.

    Jacen stopped suddenly. “I’m not going anywhere with you,” Jacen backed away a step, ready to strike with his lightsaber if she tried to stop him. But to his surprise she did nothing but look at him sadly.

    “Jacen, I could open myself up to you so you could sense my intentions, but the other Jedi stationed on Lorrd could also pick up my presence. When we get into orbit I can drop my cloaking and you’ll see.”

    He shook his head. “By then I’d be in your clutches.”

    She laughed. “You don’t think you can out fight me? You must have a pretty low opinion of yourself.”

    Jacen bristled at the comment but would not be baited.

    Lumiya frowned and tried another tactic. “Why did you come here if you weren’t willing to follow through? You’re Uncle Luke or Aunt Mara wouldn’t be scared of me. When we get into orbit I’ll drop my cloaking and if you sense any deceit on my part—then kill me right there and then. I’ll even surrender my weapons to you now.” She paused for a moment. “Unless you come with me and hear me out, I won’t tell you what the assassination plan is.”

    Jacen’s shoulders slumped. “Fine, I’ll go with you. You surrender your weapons outside the ship and I get a chance to search the shuttle for additional weapons before you board.”

    Lumiya smiled. “That is acceptable.”

    .
    .
    .

    Chiss Space

    Jag had just finished showering and changing into a new crisp uniform when his comlink chirped. He picked up the device and saw it was an incoming message from Lieutenant Roulth.

    “Yes,” he said as he keyed on the comlink.

    “Sir, the Tof prisoner talked. Would you like a personal briefing or wait for the written report?”

    “You can tell me now.”

    “He said he did not know for sure where the ship originated but it appeared shortly after his superior made contact with a person named Lumiya.”

    “Lumiya…she’s a Sith,” Jag clarified. “When Sith are involved it is usually not good. Anything else?”

    “No and I am pretty sure we got the whole story from him. He was quite terrified.”

    Jag frowned. “I told you to avoid the use an interrogator droid.”

    Jag could hear laughing on the other end of the comm connection. “I didn’t sir. We wheeled him down to the shower facility as you ordered and he went berserk. He pleaded for us not to make him shower. He spent years developing his fearsome smell and if he went back to Tof society smelling like soap he would be ostracized. I made him a deal. Tell us what he knows and I will send him back to his cell unbathed.”

    Jag smiled. “You may want to contact the other ships picking up Tof pirates in our space and let them know that particular torture technique. Good work, Fel out.”

    He clicked off the comm device. He went over to his private subspace transceiver. First he would make a full report to Admiral Pellaeon and then contact Jaina and let her know Lumiya, the Dark Lady of the Sith, was sighted in the area.
    .
    .
    .

    Star System MZX3290S, Near Bimmiel

    A gray, lumpy asteroid filled the transparisteel viewport of Lumiya’s small ship as they made their final approach. Jacen had disarmed the Sith prior to entering the shuttle and confiscated all weapons he found within. As she promised, Lumiya dropped her cloaking technique and he could not sense any ill intentions on her part. Reluctantly, Jacen decided to accompany Lumiya.

    “No wonder nobody has seen much of you lately,” Jacen said out loud as he gazed at the large piece of space rock floating up ahead.

    She turned to him and smiled. “I prefer privacy…and not getting arrested for war crimes. It’s an iron asteroid that was once a fairly large mining colony before it was abandoned centuries ago. It was called the Jonex Mine Eight Eleven B. I discovered it while researching Sith lore on Dromund Kaas.”

    Jacen gave her a puzzled look. “Why would a mining operation be mentioned in Sith literature?”

    “You’ll feel the reason when you get there. It is steeped in the darkside. It was once home of primitive mynock-like creatures that eventually mutated or evolved to be able to use the darkside of the Force for survival. They are long gone, but the residue of the darkside remains. The previous mining director was a Force sensitive. When he discovered it was a reservoir for darkside energies he intentionally mismanaged and bankrupted the company so he could close the mine. He then purchased the asteroid and built his home within the planetoid.”

    She slowed the ship as it approached a large shuttle bay carved out of the stone. She maneuvered deftly bringing the ship down with only a slight bump. The large bay doors slowly slid shut behind them and Jacen felt a small jolt of anxiety when he realized he was now trapped in a darkside stronghold with a Sith and without anybody knowing where he was.

    Lumiya didn’t seem aware of Jacen’s anxiety. She stood and smiled like they were old friends as she unbuckled her crash webbing and stood.

    “It will take a few minutes for the station’s artificial gravity to dial up. The droids will attach a flexible airlock corridor that will bring us to the exterior hatch. From there it is a short ride down turbo lift to what I call The Home.”

    Jacen unstrapped himself from this webbing and stood. “You said you had information concerning my family. Remind me again as to why you couldn’t tell me whatever you needed to say while I was on Lorrd?”

    “It’s just one of those things you must see to fully understand. Everything will be explained in due time.”

    There was a clunk as the droids successful attached the airlock corridor to the ship. After a few minutes the air cycled into the passageway and the airlock doors opened.

    Jacen paused, but Lumiya had no hesitation and walked swiftly out of the ship and down the Plasteel hallway. Jacen weighed his options but decided if he made the wrong decision he made it on Lorrd. He hurried after the Dark Lady catching up to her when she arrived at the main hatch. She keyed a code and door cycled open. They stepped in and then exited the small room into a long hallway. Lumiya walked a short distance down the hall to the first turbolift and keyed the ‘down’ button. The doors opened and she entered. When Jacen didn’t follow she motioned him to follow. “Don’t worry, if I wanted to kill you I would have done it long ago.”

    “Death is not what I am worried about.”

    A faint smile appeared on her face. “If you are truly a good man Solo, you have nothing to fear of the darkside. It, in itself, is not aggressive. It‘s not like an Anzati, with their tentacle-like proboscises slithering up your nostrils and stealing your soul…along with half of your brain. The darkside doesn’t attack you. It is like a lover that you have to welcome into your life.”

    “So the darkside is an eager lover, not a snot vampire,” he shook his head in incredulity. “That is an interesting analogy.”

    “The darkside is not sentient. It is simply misused. Don’t misuse it and you will have nothing to fear. And in doing so, you will open yourself up to all aspects of the Force.” She motioned him to enter the lift again and this time he joined her. She pushed a button the turbolift jerked as it moved down into the depths of the asteroid. “The darkside can be used without becoming evil. And I will prove it to you.”

    “I don’t care if you prove it to me or not,” Jacen said impatiently. “Do you have information concerning my family’s welfare?”

    “I do, but there is a price for the information. You must allow me to explain the greater danger to the galaxy and given the opportunity to prove to you that you must know both the dark and light knowledge of the Force to overcome the evil.”

    “What if you don’t prove it to me?”

    “Then I will give you the information promised and bring you back to Lorrd.”

    “And what if I return to your ‘home’ with a dozen Jedi to destroy it?”

    She shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. I only have a few months of life left.” She turned and gazed deeply into his eyes. “I have learned much in the last few decades and it bothers me that this knowledge may die with me.”

    “And why is that?” Jacen asked.

    “The few surviving Prophets of the Darkside on Drumond Kaas have foretold of an evil, timeless entity awaking within our lifetime. They have tried to see how it could be conquered but they said the future is clouded. When they look forward they see a warrior that is neither light nor dark in the Force. They believe it must be a Master of the unifying Force—a person who uses the dark and light side equally. You are knowledgeable in the light side. Your uncle is an excellent instructor, but where will you learn the skills of the darkside? I am the last known Sith…or, at least, a student of the Sith.”

    “Why don’t I teach you the skills of the light side, then you can become the savior of our universe?” Jacen pointed out smugly.

    Lumiya pulled a piece of her graying red hair behind her ear while she thought about his offer. She had discarded her veil while on the shuttle and Jacen could see her brow furrow in thought. Finally she shook her head. “No, my cybernetic limbs reduce my touch with the Force. I can’t possibly defeat this thing that the prophets have seen in their visions.”

    “So you want me to become a Sith because some outer rim backwards mystics predicted gloom and doom. They are charlatans otherwise why couldn’t they foretell the need to put a durasteel screen over the Death Star's thermal exhaust port.”

    She gave him a disapproving look. “Don’t be disrespectful. They were the instructors of the powerful darkside adepts called The Emperor’s Eyes.”

    Jacen laughed. “Palpatine wasn’t very creative with his titles, was he? The Emperor’s Hands, Emperor’s Eyes, The Eye of Palpatine. I’m surprised he didn’t name the Death Stars after himself. He could call them Palpatine’s Death Balls.”

    She glowered at him. “I see you your reputation of having a droll sense of humor is well deserved, Jacen.”

    The lift came to a halt and the doors opened into large hallway with black marble floors. The two stepped out and walked down the impeccably clean corridor. After a short distance the hallway opened up into an enormous circular chamber with a curved ceiling made of transparisteel. The room resembled a college library with bookcases built into the walls and levitated catwalks allowing access to the books, flimsies and holograms lining the top shelves. There were a few places were the shelves were devoid of books but instead held statuettes, art, nicknacks and other souvenirs of a lifetime of living.

    It was a beautiful and functional room, but it also reeked of the darkside. The intense Force sensations momentarily stunned Jacen. Master Yoda had once instructed his Uncle Luke that the darkside was not stronger, just a quicker way to gain power. As the dark currents swirled around him, Jacen wondered if the Jedi were warned away from the darkside because it could make a Jedi too powerful. If a person was susceptible to greed, power or desire he would be hard to stop if he harnessed all this power.

    “Intoxicating, isn’t it?” Lumiya said with a smile.

    “More like corrupting,” Jacen countered.

    “And so we come to the reason I brought you here. It is to show you that darkside power doesn’t have to corrupt if used by a restrained and virtuous disciple of the Force.” She motioned to a statue bust of a middle aged man. “This is Darth Vectivus.”

    Jacen studied the statues features. He was a stocky looking human with wavy hair and an angular chiseled face with a straight nose and square chin. He looked like a typical bust made to honor political leaders on Coruscant and other planets within the galaxy. “I’ve never heard of him.”

    “That’s because he never did evil. He didn’t build super weapons to subjugate an empire; he didn’t kill and torture people. He was a good man. He used the darkside to help him in business and to grow his wealth legally. He was a patron of the arts, philanthropist and inventor. He had family and friends that he helped prosper and he died of old age surrounded by people who loved him. He was also Sith.” She pointed to the statue. “He is proof that the darkside in itself is not evil. If you are disciplined you will not fall.”

    “And why should I believe any of this? You are a known liar.”

    “I think I have told you a number of times that I am dying. I have no reason to lie.”

    “You could be lying about dying,” Jacen pointed out.

    She let out an exasperated breath. “Do I need to give you my medical records?”

    He smirked. “That couldn’t hurt.”

    She went over to an ornate couch and stretched out on it looking exhausted by the conversation. “I have been all over this galaxy looking for a way to heal myself, but what I found was something else—something disturbing. From Korriban to Ziost to Dromund Kaas all the prophets and seers I have talked to have foreseen a shift in the Force to the darkside.”

    “So, you are a Sith. That would be good for you.”

    She shook her head. “Not if this ancient darkside evil was intent on enslaving or killing all in the galaxy…including Sith.” She shifted on the couch to face Jacen better. “I have done some horrible things in my life, but now I have an opportunity to redeem myself. When I die I want to go into the flow of the Force…I don’t want my soul tormented and wandering the netherworld.”

    Jacen crossed his arms across his chest, his face turning into a scowl. “Listen, I personally don’t care about your soul or your redemption. You said you had information for me. Tell me now…then maybe I will entertain your soul-searching, deathbed quest for forgiveness and an apprentice.”

    Lumiya gave him a look of irritation. She probably had a long, rehearsed speech and he was ruining her prepared scene. “Fine. I was contacted by a Tof leader that I worked with in the past. He was given the task to contact me for an assassination mission. He would get a Starship battlecruiser for finding me and getting me to take the assignment. I would get a substantial amount of credits if I could fulfill the mission.”

    “And what was the mission?” Jacen asked.

    “I was given DNA samples of the Queen Mother and her…and your daughter, Allana. I was to contact a former Imperial geneticist to use the DNA to create a militarized nanovirus that would kill them.”

    Jacen stiffened at the news. “You haven’t contacted the geneticist yet, have you?”

    She shook her head. “I was about to when Darth Ve… you grandfather intervened and convinced me not to do things as planned.”

    Jacen stared at her for a moment thinking he felt a flicker of deceit on her part. “My grandfather said the assassination was ordered by Ta’a Chume. Do you have proof of this—proof that I could use in a Hapan court?”

    She shook her head. “No, I can give you the datachip and perhaps your Galactic Alliance Guard can gain information from it. I guess somebody else could have ordered the hit.”

    Anger boiled up within Jacen. He was sure being surrounded by the darkside didn’t help improve his temper when it came to this subject. “It wouldn’t be the first time that black-hearted bishwag put out a hit on her own flesh and blood," he said through grinding teeth. He looked up to Lumiya. “So, what now?”

    “Jacen, if I don’t do the job, another assassin might be contacted.”

    “Are you saying I have to kill the geneticist?”

    “No, but you can use his skills…for other purposes.”

    “What do you propose?”

    “Jacen, if he can design a nanovirus to specifically kill two people, he could also design an antidote for those people. The royal families have been inbreeding for thousands of years. I am sure a nanovirus could be created that would only affect those with royal genetic markers…and if your family are the only ones immune…well wouldn’t that make life on Hapes so much safer for your family?”

    Jacen stood still—shocked by the proposition. He felt sick to his stomach because what she was suggesting would be an answer to his problem. “Yes it would,” Jacen finally admitted softly and cautiously, appalled that he would even consider such thing. She was talking about wiping out possibly tens of thousands of people. Not all Royals were guilty of assassinations and political backstabbing.

    She sat upright and looked at Jacen sympathetically. “You know it would be for the good of the Consortium and possibly for the galaxy, but you balk because of your Jedi code. That is why a Sith is needed to save us. A Sith can look at a situation and do what is best for the majority. He has foresight to see that sometimes bad things must be done for a greater good.”

    “I can’t do that,” he muttered to himself. “Besides, a nanovirus wouldn’t kill royals off planet,” he pointed out as he tried to convince himself that this was something that shouldn’t and couldn’t be considered by a Jedi.

    “True, the royals off planet would not be harmed,” Lumiya agreed. “But it would do enough harm to cripple the royals. They would be so frantic about shoring up their wealth and titles within their own houses that I doubt they would have the time or energy to covet the position of Queen Mother.” Her eyes went hard. “Jacen, the fact that your marriage is kept secret tells me the Queen Mother is being held hostage by the nonstop assassination attempts and the expectations of the royals, true?”

    Jacen went over to a large padded leather chair and sat down heavily. “Yes.”

    “Wouldn’t you like to end the madness and bring order not only to Hapes but the galaxy?”

    “Of course I would. So would every Jedi in the order, but it can’t be done without committing atrocities.”

    “So for the sake of a code you will standby until the assassins get lucky…and one day they will succeed…and kill the two women you love. And then you will sit by, like a good little Jedi, and watch the Galactic Alliance rot from within. Torn apart, not by Sith, but common non-Force wielding, power-grabbing politicians.” She gave him a knowing look. “Jacen why do you think some people are granted access to the Force while the great majority of the sentients will never feel its touch. It’s because we are expected to use our power to make things better, to lead and guide, and sometimes to kill. If by killing one man you would save a thousand, would you do it?”

    Jacen thought for a long time pondering the question before he answered. “Yes.”

    “So if it is acceptable to kill one to save a thousand, then it should also be equally acceptable to kill one hundred to save one hundred-thousand, or to eradicate a thousand to save a million.” She gazed at him intently. “You can make a difference, but your Jedi code is holding you back.”

    He shook his head. “This argument is pointless. Even if I wanted to use the darkside for good, I wouldn’t be allowed to walk a free man for long. If I used the darkside, Uncle Luke would immediately sense it.”

    “Not if you could learn Force cloaking. As you found out on Lorrd, it is very effective. I could teach you.”

    Jacen’s frustration with the constant death threats on his family bubbled up to the forefront of his brain. If he could get rid of the royals then he and Tenel Ka could live out in the open as a married couple despite his Jedi blood. In fact, the survival of Tenel Ka and Allana from the nanovirus could be attributed to their strength in the Force.

    “I…I can’t make a decision of this magnitude without taking time to think and meditate. Give me time,” Jacen said slowly. “In the interim, can you teach me the cloaking technique?”

    Lumiya gave a broad smile. “Certainly.”
     
  24. Briannakin

    Briannakin Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Feb 25, 2010
    GAHHH MORON JACEN!!! DON'T LISTEN TO HER!

    But this: He could call them Palpatine’s Death Balls, was hilarious.
     
  25. SiouxFan

    SiouxFan Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 6, 2012
    JL:

    Disclaimer: This is going to veer to the philosophical.

    Holy wonderfully complex plot, Batman! This is what LotF should have been. In fact, it kinda started that way and then turned into...AARGH. I really like the back story of Vectivus, but is raises this question: If Vectivus was able to use the 'darkside' for non-dark activities, and did not become 'dark' himself, does this not imply that there is not a darkside? That it is the person that determines the outcome, not the Force? Isn't that what Vergere tried to teach Jacen? (And us?) 'I am the master of my ship, not Blackbeard.'--Capt Barbossa.

    I really like Lumiya in this, but her argument that argument about Force users seems awfully arrogant. "We are expected to use our power to make things better, to lead and guide..." This smacks of the same argument the kings and queens of medieval Europe and Asia had: we were born into it, therefore it is our right. It is just blind, stinking luck, nothing more. Jacen was born into a family that had an uncle to teach him how to use his gifts; Danni Quee was born to a family that did not, so she became an astrophysicist. If the situation of their birth were to be reversed, Danni would have been the one to rescue a frightened Jacen on Helska IV.

    The problem with Lumiya's 'kill one to save a thousand' argument is that it has been used in her bigger scales. 'One to save a thousand' easily becomes 'a hundred to save a hundred-thousand' easily becomes 'a million to save a hundred-million'. Where does the line get drawn? A bigger concern for this story: killing a hundred will save the Consortium, but then it becomes a precedent to kill another hundred on, say, Commenor, to save that regime, or a hundred on Corellia to save it, etc. Why not just take out Ta'a Chume? She seems to be the real driving force behind all of the attempts; I doubt too many Hapans would morn her passing.

    To everyone who is going to say that Jacen is an idiot for listening to Lumiya, I ask this: What is he supposed to do? Lumiya is correct, these attacks will not stop and they will eventually succeed. Abdication looks good, but it might not work; Czar Nicholas abdicated, and the Soviets killed him and his family anyway. Furthermore, all it does is shift the target to someone else; someone who may or may not really want the Crown. (Lady Jane Grey comes to mind) Or do we not care about other Hapans, so long as Tenel Ka and Allana are safe?

    I loved the 'interrogation' scene! BTW, I think that you are doing great with this! Don't edit it down on my account.