Myrkr

Han and Leia walked out of the chamber where Jacen was being held. Leia was sobbing quietly as Han had his arms wrapped around her shoulders. He pulled his wife gently into an embrace and kissed her on the top of her head. "Leia, things will be alright. Luke will know what to do." He looked up to Luke who was outside in the hallway pacing anxiously.

"Did he talk to you?" Luke asked expectantly.

Leia took a deep shuddering breath. "No, he refused to say anything to me or his father."

Luke sighed. "Well, it was worth a try." He gestured down the hallway. "Everybody is waiting in the dayroom to discuss our options."

The three walked down the corridor and into the lounge area. There they found everybody but Jacen and Jaden sitting restlessly on chairs and couches as they waited for the meeting to begin.

Mark fidgeted in his chair more than most of those in attendance. He didn't want the responsibility of determining Jacen's future. He was good friends with Han and Leia and he already felt guilty over the way he treated Jacen in the last week.

Luke stood in front of the group wearing his full Jedi robes and looking very much the part of Grand Master. He waited until Han and Leia were seated before he began. "I think most of you know the situation. It appears Lumiya tricked Jacen into dark side training. She somehow convinced him that a great threat was coming and he would need to learn the skills of the dark side to supplement his Jedi training in order to defeat this impending danger." Luke looked over at Mark. "Unfortunately, we can't question the Sith further on her motives. She foolishly decided to come to Myrkr to retrieve Jacen and was subsequently killed."

Mark looked down embarrassed. He should have taken her captive, but at the time killing the woman seemed like the best, if not only, choice.

"During the few times Jacen's was awake he was either violent or insolent." Luke looked over to Leia and Han, hesitating slightly before he continued. "On top of attacking Mara on Kavan, he tried to shoot Mark with a blaster and he beat and choked out Jaden during an escape attempt."

Leia sobbed as laid her head on Han's chest as they sat together on the couch.

"Last night he ran into the Myrkr forest with total disregard for his safety," Luke continued in a tremulous voice. "He was nearly eaten by Vornskrs. It appears he has lost the will to live, or at least he has a total disregard for danger."

"What is the threat he was preparing for?" Mara queried.

Luke shook his head. "We don't know. Lumiya told Mark before she died that even she didn't know. Even if the threat is real, we have no idea where to start looking. We will investigate, but right now we have greater concerns," Luke said firmly. "Our current problem is what do we do with Jacen."

Han gazed at Luke with unsure eyes. "Don't the Jedi have contingency plans for just this type of situation?"

Luke glanced over to Mara who frowned. Luke dropped his head not looking Han in the eye. "We have had a couple students go dark, but they always came back to the Jedi with their own free will. They were restricted to the Temple and monitored for the dark side in their actions and Force signature, but there is a problem when it comes to Jacen."

"Which is?" Han asked uneasily.

"Jacen doesn't want to return to the Jedi and he was taught by Lumiya Force stealth and possibly buried presence. Therefore we would never know if Jacen has truly renounced the dark side." Luke ran a hand through his hair nervously. "That leaves us with less desirable options."

"Which are?" Jaina spoke out as a sliver of apprehension crept into her voice.

"In a worst case scenario—where we are dealing with an out-of-control Sith—the most practical route is to put him in carbonite."

Everybody saw Han visibly flinch at that suggestion. "…and that would only happen if we truly have a Sith on our hands," Luke clarified.

"Which you can never be sure of because my son can hide his presence in the Force," Han pointed out the flaw in Luke's thinking.

"Yes," Luke said quietly.

Leia buried her head in her hands and moaned. Han reached over and pulled her into his embrace and whispered reassurances into her ear.

"We could keep him confined in the Temple with ysalamiri, Luke continued, "Until the time where we are comfortable that he isn't a threat to others."

Han gave Luke an irritated glare. "Which could take months or years or it may never happen? Right?"

Frustration etched Luke's face. "Yes Han, but it would be better than confinement in a prison for the crimes he has committed so far." Luke pointed to Mara and Mark. "We talked about this and we don't want to bring the law into this matter. We would like to settle this as a family." Luke gazed at Mark. "Jaden is on board, isn't he?"

Mark nodded. "Yes, he wants the best for Jacen."

"So you are telling me that my son will be confined somewhere forever because the Jedi can never be sure that he's Sith or not?"

"No, not forever," Luke replied quickly. "I'm sure we'll figure this out sooner than later, but even if he is not Sith, he's been a danger to others. He needs counseling at the very least."

Han shook his head in confusion. "Can't you wave your hand and with your Jedi magic make him better?"

Luke frowned as he paced in front of the group tensely. "I've never heard of an unrepentant Sith being deprogrammed through the use of the light side of the Force."

"Well then…," Han's voice rose a bit in frustration. "Can't you make him forget he's Sith…that he ever met Lumiya." Han thought about it and shifted in his seat so he was facing Luke fully. "You've done it before with those two stormtroopers on Dathomir, remember? You made them forget they saw you."

"Yes," Luke nodded slowly. "What you are suggesting is a memory rub. It is not something the Jedi usually do. It can be done with the light side of the Force, but it is usually practiced by Sith."

Han made a frustrated gesture with his hand. "Luke you've done it before. You know how to do it. If you make Jacen forget about Lumiya and her teachings, then he wouldn't be Sith," Han argued. "He wouldn't be a danger to anybody and he can go back to being the Jedi he was before."

Luke shook his head. "I can't do it Han. It worked on those weak-minded Stormtroopers, but it won't work on a trained Jedi. Jacen needs to be conscious for it to happen and he will block my efforts through the Force."

"Then do it here," Jaina spoke up.

Luke gave her an incredulous look. "If Jacen doesn't have the Force, then neither do I." Look pointed out the obvious.

Jaina motioned towards Mark. "But he does."

"What?" Mark sat back in his chair shocked. "Whoa, no, no, no. I don't want to be screwing around in his head."

"If we did that," Leia said in a quiet, hopeful voice. "Would that mean we can pretend none of this happened?"

Luke's jaw tightened as he stared at the ceiling in thought. "I don't know…it doesn't really matter because I never trained Mark to do that technique. We'd have to leave the planet for me to teach him."

"Mark," Mara turned to her pseudo-brother, "You know how to do a memory rub, don't you?"

He bristled not wanting to answer. "You know I do." He looked over to Mara. "You watched the Emperor wipe away the memories of more than one of his enemies."

Mara closed her eyes. "Yes, I have."

"I won't do it," Mark said as he folded his arms across his chest and gave the others a defiant look. "If I make a mistake the results could be devastating."

"You're right." Luke nodded. "And I wouldn't ask you to do something like that anyway."

"Wait, wait." Han stood and walked over to Mark placing a hand on his shoulder. "Before you all disregard this possibility, can I first talk to Mark privately?"

Mark looked to Luke who nodded for him to go ahead.

"Fine," Mark said as he stood and followed Han out of the dayroom and down the hall into an empty crewman's quarters.

Han sat on the cot and gave Mark a long, sad look. "Mark, I want my son back."

"I know Han, but…,"

Han raised a hand interrupting him. "Wait, hear me out." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Mark, when Leia and I first started dating she told me she never wanted children. She had recently discovered that Darth Vader was her father and the thought that a child of hers might turn out like him terrified her." Han gave a weak smile. "It was a bit disappointing to hear; I really wanted kids. I was orphaned when I was very young. What I wanted more than anything is a family of my own."

Mark nodded. "I know that feeling."

"Although I wanted children I told Leia she was enough for me…and she was…but fate or the Force blessed us with twins anyway. They were a wonderful surprise. Leia put aside her fears and embraced her role as a mother and a couple years later we had another blessing with the birth of Anakin." Han gave Mark a long stare. "Anakin…named after Anakin Skywalker…the man who became Darth Vader. She was the one who named him. It was a way of saying she no longer feared the legacy of Vader…and she wasn't afraid…until now."

Han paused as a weary expression crossed his face. "Since Leia found out about Jacen attacking Mara she's been inconsolable. And that is something I have never seen. This is the woman who witnessed the destruction of Alderaan and with it, just about everybody she knew and loved, but she pulled herself together and led a rebel army to take down the Empire." Han pointed in the direction of the dayroom. "She is one strong woman, but this is breaking her heart because she knows her family is falling apart and she is scared for Jacen and fearful at what he may become. She doesn't want to be the woman who brought another Darth Vader into the galaxy."

"Han, I understand how hard this is for you and Leia…but you don't know what you are asking," Mark whispered. "This is dangerous. I could inadvertently wipe away decades of memory. I've never done this before."

"Mark, we have damn few options right about now." Han said harshly. "What future does Jacen have with the Jedi or even his family if people don't trust him? And from what I'm hearing nobody will ever know if he is lying or not. If we can get rid of those memories of his dark side training he'll have a second chance."

Mark nodded. "Yes…but the trouble is we don't know when he started training with Lumiya, therefore I have no idea as to how much memory needs to be removed."

Han ran a hand over his chin in thought. "Could he have met up with Lumiya during his journey for knowledge?" Han asked. "I do know he became very secretive a few months before he left."

"That may be the case and if so, then we have to take out four or five years…that's a huge chunk of memory," Mark pointed out.

Han threw up his hands in frustration. "Mark, can you think of any other way that the Jedi would ever trust Jacen again?"

Mark looked down at his feet, not wanting to look Han in the eye. "Probably not," he said reluctantly.

"I have grandchildren," Han emphasized each word. "I can't have Jacen around Anakin's kids if there's the slightest chance that he's gone dark. Also, if he leaves here today and he really is Sith then I know how this story will end…with my son dead."

Mark didn't reply, but simply stared at the floor.

"And you know what's worse?"

"What?"

"Jedi are usually the ones who kill Sith. That means one of the Masters or Jedi will hunt him down like a Nek dog and kill him. It may be you, Luke, or one of my children. Can you imagine the heartbreak Leia would go through if Jaina is the one who has to kill her own brother?"

Mark looked Han in the eye. "Han, nobody in their right mind would send Jaina on a mission like that."

Han rubbed the back of his neck. "Maybe so, but somebody would hunt him down and kill him. That's what Jedi do with Sith. You and I both know that." He gave Mark a pleading look. "Please Mark, at least consider this option. It's the only way I can see a happy ending for my son."

Mark brought his hands up and rubbed his temples as he leaned against the wall. "I'll consider it, but I need to discuss this with Luke some more."

Han stood and clasped Mark's shoulder. "That's all I ask." Mark was a little surprised when the man pulled him into a quick brotherly hug. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet," Mark said ominously. "You might not like the results."