Entry 25

After Marcus showered and changed his clothing we all went down to my parents' quarters where my mother had prepared one of our favorite meals: Coruscant game fowl served with Lipana berry sauce over seasoned rice. I really miss my mother's cooking. I hate to say it, but Zylie is terrible at preparing meals. Princess won't even eat her cooking leftovers. Valla and Ben are not much better. I appear to be the only person on the ship that can read a recipe.

It was a wonderful feast and a great evening. Dad and I purposely avoided the subject of the battle so not to upset my mother. We talked about Indupar Knight training, my pregnant vornskr, and my mission to catch a mind-witch. My parents thought Jonnar teasing his daughter about marrying me was hilarious and mom got all teary eyed when I revealed that I told the witch I would rather die than break my marital vows.

"Zylie is very lucky to have you as a husband," my mother said warmly.

I gave her a wide grin. "I keep telling her that, Mom, but I don't think she believes me."

My father rolled his eyes. "I wonder if vornskrs dislike giant egos? That would explain Princess' distaste for you."

Marcus let out a big laugh. "Did Princess growl at you again, dad?"

I made a noise of disgust as I raised my arm. "She bit me." I pointed to white scar tissue. "The bacta healed most of it but you can still see a scar where she clamped down on me."

"What did you do to her?" My mother's brow furrowed in confusion. "She's never bit anybody before."

"I didn't do anything. I was helping Zylie to give her a bath when I noticed her distended stomach and teats. I thought she might be pregnant and decided to feel her belly to confirm this belief. I guess she thought I was endangering her young and she bit me."

Marcus grinned. "Can I have a baby Vornskr?"

I laughed. "Once they are weaned you can have all of them."

My dad looked a little uneasy. "They won't come after my ysalamiri, will they?"

I shook my head. "Vornskrs eat ysalamiri in the Myrkr forest because that's their main food source. If you feed the animals they won't hunt."

"Unless you touch their belly," my son laughed.

I chuckled. "Correct. If you touch a pregnant vornskr's belly she may develop a craving for Jedi."

The remainder of the meal was spent laughing and telling stories about my childhood, Marcus' training, and the early years at the Jedi Academy when my father and Aunt Mara were Uncle Luke's first students.

It was a good get-together.

Entry 26

I should have known something would spoil my evening and that 'something' came in the form of Ema Aiti who rang the buzzer of my guest quarters just as I was about to retire for the evening. I tightened the bathrobe over my sleep pants and answered the door. In the corridor I found Marcus' mother standing there, arms crossed over her chest and with a disapproving expression on her face. She didn't wait for an invitation to enter, but barged past me and into my guest quarters. "I heard from the palace staff that you were here. I should be told when my son's father is visiting and not have to hear it from the help."

I spread my hands out in a placating gesture. "I didn't know you weren't told. I was invited by my father and Marcus…maybe you should have this conversation with them."

"I should have known your father was involved," she huffed, her usually beautiful face scrunched up into a cold mask. "My sister should have sent him away. I am sure he has filled my son's head with glorious stories of battle." She glared at me. "Are you here to compliment Marcus on becoming a murderer before he's even a teenager? You and your dad are a bad influence on him. You are making him into a warmonger!" Ema was livid…and just as upset as I was with my father upon seeing the holovid of Marcus. I can understand why she was upset but the fact that I am being blamed made my blood boil. Before she could continue her tirade I put up a cautioning hand to silence her.

"Stop right there. How dare you blame me for anything Marcus does." I thrust an accusing finger at her. "You robbed me of my right to raise my son, to be part of his life. He didn't even know I existed until he was nine years old. Nine years I lost with my son! And for the last three years my contact with him—my only child—has been severely limited. So don't you dare criticize me for Marcus' behavior."

The fire dimmed in her blue eyes for a microsecond before she went back on a counter attack. "Before you and your father came into his life he never wanted to be a Jedi warrior. He wouldn't have been on that battlefield if it weren't for your father training him. Marcus wants to be a Jedi so he can be just like you."

I shook my head in disgust. "My parents forbade me from participating in dangerous missions until I was eighteen years of age and I am positive they would have done the same for Marcus if possible." I stared at her in annoyance. "If you want somebody to blame, look in a mirror. It was you and your sister that allowed him to train with the seers. Marcus himself told me he went to Ec Pand because of what he saw in the time stream…not because he wanted to impress my dad or me. He did it for the good of the Indupar Crown Worlds. So if you want to blame somebody blame yourself and your all-knowing seers! Why aren't you yelling at them for not stopping him?"

Ema fell silent for a moment before dragging a hand through her long blond hair and sighing deeply. "The seers can't see Marcus in the time stream…you've known that for a while. That's how he was able to stowaway on your ship last year."

I raised an eyebrow. "I knew they couldn't find him sometimes…it is now all the time?"

She nodded slowly. "He's disappeared entirely. They know of his presence after the fact. They knew about the upcoming attack on Ec Pand and had the admirals set up a trap for the Nagai fleet. They knew the ground forces were successful on Ec Pand…but they didn't see Marcus there. They saw the shield coming down, but they thought your father did it through the Force."

I rubbed my hand over my chin in thought. "Do you think Marcus is blocking them?"

She shrugged. "He rarely discusses the subject with me and when he does I suspect he is lying." He eyes went wide as she took a step toward me. "Maybe you can find out. Go to this quarters or office and use your post-cognitive powers to figure out what he is up to."

I took a step back, offended by the suggestion. "I'm not going to spy on my son."

She gave a caustic laugh. "He spies on you! He watches you through the time stream. What's the difference between him looking at your future or you looking into his past?"

I closed my eyes and drew a calming breath. She had a point, but I still didn't like the idea. "The future can change, the past cannot. If he ignores me in the time stream and I died he will be wracked with guilt."

"What if you didn't check on what he did in the past, so you didn't see his plans, and in doing so, you didn't see what idiotic thing that got him killed. Don't you think you would feel guilty also?"

I turned away and paced the room in thought. I stopped and gazed at the floor intently before speaking. "Ema, if he watches me in the time stream then he would know of any plans I had to spy on him. He would simply find a way to counter my snooping. I wouldn't get any useful information and it might result in Marcus never trusting me again." I blew out a deep breath before settling down on the couch. "I want to protect my son, but I'm not going to invade his privacy. I don't want to do anything that would cause resentment and damage my relationship with him."

Her shoulders slumped as she blew out a frustrated breath. "I don't know how your mother tolerates having three Jedi in her family. She must have be a nervous wreck when you were growing up."

I gave a low chuckle. "She knew we were instructed by highly skilled Jedi Masters. Our training has kept us alive. Even if Marcus never picked up a lightsaber again, he would still be a target of assassins. All political leaders are susceptible. A Jedi warrior king is harder to kill." I stood and walked over to Ema, laying a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Don't send my father away. The skills he has imparted to Marcus might be the only thing keeping our son alive…and not the other way around."

She gave me an exasperated roll of her eyes and a dismissive gesture. "I hate to admit it, but you are probably right. According to your mother, he is as wild and incorrigible as you were at his age. If he is going to be running into danger all the time he might as well be properly trained."

She turned and moved to the exit. She reached for the door latch but stopped and turned back to me. "Talon, I apologize for getting angry at you. You're right. You were cheated out of fatherhood…and for that I am sorry." She then slipped out of my room closing the door behind her.

I walked to my bedroom wearily, wondering if I was making the right decision. I am Marcus' father and he is still a child. Should I use my powers to keep a watchful eye on him? I don't know the answer to that. What I really wanted to do was break into the seers' meditation chamber and see what mischief they are up to. Of course they would see my actions and prevent me from doing so.

I plopped down in my bed wondering if Marcus was allowed into their meditation room. I realized I've never asked him where he did seer training. If Marcus has entered their inner sanctum, then he'd know all their secrets. But, if they prevented my son from entering their headquarters, then they were definitely hiding something. I would feel better if I knew for sure that Marcus was privy to the seers' plans. If he wasn't…well, then maybe the elusive King Marcus should pay a visit to the seers' meditation chamber. They couldn't stop him, because they wouldn't see him coming.