Chapter 3

Ben stormed down the pedwalk, heedless of the looks he received from various pedestrians as they dodged to get out his way. It wasn't often he let his emotions flash across his face, but today was one of those times when mediation was the furthest thing from his mind.

Of all the selfish, arrogant gestures his brother could manage…surely this was the height of his insensitivity! Just when Ben thought his parents couldn't possibly be made to suffer anymore, Jaryn goes and pulls a stunt like this. This would absolutely kill them. Ben stopped for a moment, taking a deep calming breath. How was he ever going to tell them? He couldn't bear to see the light in his father's eyes fade yet again. Of course his mother would react immediately by cursing Jaryn to the stars, but inside she would be suffering as only a mother could.

Blast my brother to the very bowels of Baroli! Ben thought to himself, continuing to stride toward the office of Jaryn's lawyer. None of this made any sense. Not that his brother had always embraced that particular description, but he always upheld Jedi beliefs and practices. He wasn't even sure if his brother's motivations for what he did were wrong.

Could Omas have been up to something so treasonous that Jaryn's only recourse was to walk into the man's office and kill him in cold blood? Ben shuddered trying to imagine what that could possibly be as he entered the foyer of the large office building.

"Master Skywalker," said a petite brunette behind the receptionist's desk. "Ms. Dupresis is expecting you, go right in."

Ben nodded, still trying to gain some control. "Thank you Nara." He marched down the hall, keeping his chin down and breathing deeply. Rounding the corner, he saw Jaryn's lawyer getting up from her desk.

"Ah, Ben—you just missed your parents," said Lin Dupresis. She clasped hands with him and signaled toward the sofa.

"Hello Lin. My parents were here?"

She nodded. "They want me to persuade your brother to let them visit him. Not asking for much now, are they?"

Ben took in her wry smile and returned one himself. He had grown to respect her very much. An outstanding attorney and calm in every crisis that had erupted during the trial, she still voiced some hope of getting Ben a commuted sentence. "I think they're just used to getting the impossible…it's a Force thing."

"Ah…too bad, I'm fresh out of Force. Guess I'll have to rely on the old appellate law."

Ben cursed and stood up, pacing the room. "Well, that's not the latest…I just came from a little talk with my brother and he is saying he will refuse all attempts at commuting his sentence."

Ms. Dupresis' brows shot up past her bangs. "Now that one I did not see coming." She hesitated a moment, but Ben knew she was already formulating a plan. "We have three options…"

"Only three?"

"Calm down…and sit down, Ben can I get you something?"

He plopped back on to the sofa and ran a hand through his hair. "No—I just…"

The attorney leaned over and pressed the comm unit. "Nara, would you bring us some refreshments, please?" She signed off before receiving a reply.

"Thank you."

"Ben, we both have to take this calmly. The more rational we are the better able we'll be to help Jaryn through this."

Ben laughed.

"And what's so funny?"

"You. Me. You telling me, the Jedi Master, to calm down." He smiled into the face of the woman he trusted so implicitly. It dawned on him that she was the one non-Force user in the Galaxy that he put so much faith in. He had grown very close to her in a short amount of time and was just realizing what she had come to mean to him. The realization was startling.

"Ben you may be a Jedi Master, but you're still a human being. It's normal to have these kinds of feelings. Someone you love dearly is being threatened. I'd worry if you didn't have an occasional loss of Jedi Master cool."

"Thank you, Lin," he said, taking in her delicate features and resolute chin.

"I think you're the only person I can just be myself with. You have no idea what that means to me."

Lin glanced down at her hands and whispered, "I have a pretty good idea."

Nara entered the office, smiling, with a tray of food items and a pitcher of something chilled. "I'll take it, Nara," said Lin. "Can you find out if the Skywalkers went back to their apartment for me?"

"Of course." She left, closing the door.

Lin poured the fruity beverage into a glass and handed it to Ben. "Now, let's get back to our three options. First, we can do nothing—and yes, I know that one is out of the question. Just had to say it. Second, we can persuade him to change his mind. That one I'm the least confident of. He is a stubborn cuss, your brother."

Ben laughed. "Tell me about it."

"And third…" she took a sip from her own glass before speaking. "We can have him declared judicially incompetent and you can be appointed his guardian for legal matters."

Ben listened to the clock ticking on Lin's mantel as he thought about the repercussions of that decision. Funny that she would have such an antique in a room filled with contemporary furnishings. "If we were successful would that put him in a mental institution instead of a penal colony?"

"No, this would only be in a judicial capacity. We would be saying he is incompetent only to make legal decisions. It's entirely different than trying to have him declared psychologically incompetent. He would still be sent to Kessel, if we are successful."

"I see no down side to this."

She nodded. "It is our best avenue, but…it is also a very difficult one to take. Are you ready for a fight?"

"I'm a Jedi and a Skywalker…I was born ready to fight!"

"Good," said Lin. "Now all we need is a little of that famous Solo luck I'm always hearing about to go along with the Skywalker tenacity."

Ben stood and extended his hand. "I'll see if Uncle Han has any to spare."