Disclaimer: I am not George Lucas or Rick Riordan.
Enter Jacen, Mara, Gaeriel, and Yoda, tending to Danni in the Jedi Temple.
Jacen. We've got to heal her. There's a way, right?
Yoda feels Danni's head.
Yoda. Her mind is in a fragile state. [to Gaeriel] Gaeriel. What happened?
Gaeriel. I wish I knew. As soon as I got to the Praxeum, I had a premonition about Shira's cabin. I went inside. Mara and Danni came in while I was there. We talked, and then . . . I just blanked out. Mara said I spoke in a different voice.
Yoda. A prophecy?
Gaeriel. No. The spirit of Massassi comes from within. I know how that feels. This was like long distance, a power trying to speak through me.
Mara retrieves a medkit and leans next to Danni.
Mara. Yoda. What happened back there . . . I've never seen anything like it. I've heard Gaeriel's prophecy voice. This was different. She sounded like an older woman. She grabbed Danni's shoulders and told her . . .
Jacen. To free her from a prison?
Mara. How did you know that?
Yoda uses a Force trick to repel the dark side's influence.
Yoda. Jacen. Tell them. Mara, the medkit, please.
As Yoda heals Danni with the medkit, Jacen explains his vision of Lumiya.
Jacen. So does this happen often? Supernatural contact from convicts demanding you bust them out of prison?
Mara. Your patron. Not your godly parent?
Jacen. No, she said patron. She also said my father had given her my life.
Mara. [frowns] I've never of heard anything like that before. You said the Force spirit on the skywalk . . . he claimed to be working for some mistress who was giving him orders, right? Could it be this woman you saw, messing with your mind?
Jacen. I don't think so. If she were my enemy, why would she be asking for my help? She's imprisoned. She's worried about some enemy getting more powerful, something about an overlord rising from chaos on the solstice . . .
Mara. [to Yoda] Not Palpatine. Please tell me it's not that.
Yoda finishes healing Danni, then looks up.
Yoda. It is not Palpatine. That threat is ended. But . . .
Mara. But what?
Yoda seals the medkit.
Yoda. Danni needs rest. We should discuss this later.
Jacen. Or now. Master Yoda, you told me the greatest threat was coming, the last chapter. You can't possibly mean something worse than an army of Sith, right?
Gaeriel. Oh. Oh, dear. The woman was Shira. Of course. Her cabin, her voice. She showed herself to Jacen at the same moment.
Mara. [angry] Shira? She took you over? She did this to Danni?
Jacen. I think Gaeriel's right. The woman did seem like a Je'daii. And she wore this . . . this triangular headdress. That's a symbol of Lumiya, isn't it?
Mara. It is? I've never heard that.
Yoda. [nods] Of Lumiya, Shira's Imperial aspect in her most warlike state. The triangular headdress was a symbol of the Imperial soldier.
Gaeriel. So Shira is imprisoned? Who could do that to the Queen of Tython?
Mara. Well, whoever they are, maybe we should thank them. If they can shut up Shira . . .
Yoda. Mara. She is still one of the Je'daii. In many ways, she is the glue that holds the Je'daii's family together. If she truly has been imprisoned and is in danger of destruction, this could shake the foundations of the galaxy. It could unravel the stability of Tython, which is never great even in the best of times. And if Shira has asked Jacen for help . . .
Mara. Fine. Well, we know Sith can capture a Je'daii, right? Count Dooku captured Dathomir two years ago. And in the old stories, the Je'daii captured each other in traps all the time. But something worse than a Sith . . . ?
Jacen. Shira said she'd been trying to break through her prison bonds for a month.
Mara. Which is how long Tython has been closed. So the Je'daii must know something bad is going on.
Jacen. But why use her energy to send me here? She wiped my memory, plopped me into the Errant Venture field trip, and sent you a dream vision to come pick me up. Why am I so important? Why not just send up an emergency flare to the other Je'daii, let them know where she is so they bust her out?
Gaeriel. The Je'daii need Jedi to do their will down here in the physical world. That's right, isn't it? Their fates are always intertwined with demigods.
Mara. That's true. But Jacen's got a point. Why him? Why take his memory?
Gaeriel, And Danni's involved somehow. Shira sent her the same message: free me. And Mara, this must have something to do with Luke's disappearing.
Mara glares at Yoda.
Mara. Why are you so quiet, Yoda? What is it we're facing?
Yoda. My dear, in this, I cannot help you. I am so sorry.
Mara. [stunned] You've never . . . you've never kept information from me. Even the last great prophecy . . .
Yoda. I will be in my quarters. I need some time to think before dinner. Gaeriel, will you watch the girl? Call Jurokk to bring her to the medcenter, if you'd like. And Mara, you should speak with Jacen. Tell him about . . . about the Republic and Imperial gods.
Mara. But . . .
Exit Yoda.
Mara curses in Old Corellian.
Jacen. I'm sorry. I think my being here . . . I don't know. I've messed things up coming to the Praxeum somehow. Yoda said he'd sworn an oath and couldn't talk about it.
Mara. What oath? I've never seen him act this way. And why would he tell me to talk to you about the Je'daii. . . .
Mara notices the uniqueness of Jacen's lightsaber.
Is this iron? Do you remember where you got it?
Jacen. No. Like I said, I don't remember anything.
Mara. [nods] If Yoda won't help, we'll need to figure things out ourselves. Which means . . . cabin fifteen. [to Gaeriel] Gaeriel. You'll keep an eye on Danni?
Gaeriel. Sure. May the Force be with you.
Jacen. Hold on. What's in cabin fifteen?"
Mara. [rising] Maybe a way to get your memory back.
Exit Gaeriel and Danni.
Jacen and Mara approach cabin fifteen, home to the children of Morichro.
Jacen. You think this is my parent's cabin?
Mara. No. This is the cabin for Morichro, the Je'daii of sleep.
Jacen. Then why . . . ?
Mara. You've forgotten everything. If there's any Je'daii who can help us figure out memory loss, it's Morichro.
Jacen and Mara enter cabin fifteen.
Enter the children of Morichro, all asleep.
Jacen starts to fall asleep, but Mara nudges him.
Snap out of it. Cabin fifteen does that to everyone. If you ask me, this place is even more dangerous than the cabin five. At least with Yun-Yammka, you can learn where the land mines are.
Jacen. Land mines?
Enter Fi Skirata, a sleeping young man with dark hair and eyes.
Mara shakes Fi awake.
Mara. Fi. Wake up. Fi!
Fi awakes.
Fi. [yawns] What?
Mara. Stop that. We need your help.
Fi. I was sleeping.
Mara. You're always sleeping.
Fi. Good night.
Mara snatches Fi's pillow before he can lie down again.
That's not fair. Give it back.
Mara. First help. Then sleep.
Fi. [sighs] Fine. What?
After Mara explains Jacen's problem, Fi rises to his feet and studies him.
So you don't remember anything, eh?
Jacen. Just impressions. Feelings, like . . .
Fi. Yes?
Jacen. Like I know I shouldn't be here . . . at this praxeum. I'm in danger.
Fi. Hmm. Close your eyes.
Jacen glances at Mara, who nods.
Jacen closes his eyes and sleeps. When he awakes, Fi and Mara are leaning over him.
. . . serious, all right.
Jacen. What happened? How long . . . ?
Mara. Just a few minutes. But it was tense. You almost dissolved.
Fi. Usually memories are lost for a good reason. They sink under the surface like dreams, and with a good sleep, I can bring them back. But this . . .
Mara. The Mists?
Fi. No. Not even the Mists.
Jacen. The Mists?
Fi. The Mists of Forgetfulness, beyond shadows. It dissolves your memories, wipes your mind clean permanently.
Fi indicates the bloodvines around his cabin.
These are bloodvines from beyond shadows dipped into the Mists of Forgetfulness. It's the symbol of my father Morichro. The Mists are not a place you want to go swimming.
Mara. [nods] Luke went there once. He told me it was powerful enough to wipe the mind of a Dark Lord of the Sith.
Jacen. But . . . that's not my problem?
Fi. No. Your mind wasn't wiped, and your memories weren't buried. They've been stolen.
Jacen. Stolen. How?
Fi. A god. Only a god would have that kind of power.
Jacen. We know that. It was Lumiya. But how did she do it and why?
Fi. Lumiya?
Mara. He means Shira. For some reason, Jacen likes the Imperial names.
Fi. Hmm.
Jacen. What? Does that mean something?
Fi falls asleep.
Fi.
Fi. What? What? We were talking about pillows, right? No, gods. I remember. Republic and Imperial. Sure, that could be important.
Mara. But they're the same gods, just different names.
Fi. Not exactly.
Jacen sits forward.
Jacen. What do you mean, not exactly?
Fi. Well . . . [yawns] Some Je'daii are only Imperial. Like Darth Bane or Yaddle. But even the major Old Republic gods . . . it's not just their names that changed when they moved to Bastion. Their appearances changed. Their attributes changed. They even had slightly different personalities.
Mara. But . . . Okay, so maybe beings saw them differently through the centuries. That doesn't change who they are.
Fi. Sure it does.
Fi starts to nod off, but Jacen snaps him awake.
Coming, Mother. I mean . . . Yeah, I'm awake. So, er, personalities. The Je'daii change to reflect their host cultures. You know that, Mara. I mean, these days, Sekot likes tailored suits, holodocumentaries, and that Besalisk diner in CoCo Town, right? It was the same in the Age of the Empire, and the gods were Imperial almost as long as they were Republican. It was a big empire, lasted for centuries. So of course their Imperial aspects are still a big part of their character.
Jacen. Makes sense.
Mara. [shakes her head] But how do you know all this, Fi?
Fi. Oh, I spend a lot of time dreaming. I see the Je'daii there all the time, always shifting forms. Dreams are fluid, you know. You can be in different places at once, always changing identities. It's a lot like being a god, actually. Like recently, I dreamed I was watching a Max Rebo concert, and then I was onstage with Max Rebo. And we were singing this duet, and I could not remember the words for "Lapti Nek." Oh, man, it was so embarrassing, I . . .
Mara. Fi. Back to the Empire?
Fi. Right, the Empire. So we call the Je'daii by their Republic names because that's their original form. But saying their Imperial aspects are exactly the same . . . that's not true. In the Empire, they became more warlike. They didn't mingle with mortals as much. They were harsher, more powerful, the gods of an Empire.
Mara. Like the dark side of the Je'daii?
Fi. Not exactly. They stood for discipline, honor, strength . . .
Jacen. Good things, then. I mean, discipline is important, right? That's what made the Empire last so long.
Fi frowns at Jacen, curious about his need to defend the Imperial gods.
Fi. That's true. But the Imperial gods weren't very friendly. For instance, my father Morichro . . . he didn't do much except sleep in the days of the Old Republic. At the height of the Empire, they called him Nathema. He liked killing beings who didn't stay alert at their jobs. If they nodded off at the wrong time, they never woke up. He killed Jax Pavan's helmsman when they were sailing from Haruun Kal.
Mara. [sarcastic] Nice guy. But I still don't understand what it has to do with Jacen.
Fi. Neither do I. But if Shira took your memory, only she can give it back. And if I had to meet the Queen of Tython, I'd hope she was more in a Shira mood than a Lumiya mood. Can I go back to sleep now?
Mara glances over at the bloodvines, then tosses Fi back his pillow.
Mara. Thank you, Fi. We'll see you at dinner.
Fi lays back down.
Fi. Can I get room service? I feel like . . .
Fi sleeps with his head buried in the pillow.
Jacen. Won't he suffocate?
Mara. He'll be fine. But I'm beginning to think that you are in serious trouble.
Exit all.
