Entry 62

I got a very warm homecoming upon docking with the Vazy Princess. This time Zylie didn't try to climb into the cockpit with me, but instead dragged me back to our quarters to celebrate our reunion. Of course I'd been living in a cave for the last few days with no shower or deodorant so she quickly shoved me out of the cabin and told me to take a shower. I went to the 'fresher but it was locked. I listened to the door and heard the sonic shower on…and then giggling. Damn it! Ben and Valla were doing it in the shower and now I have to wait! We definitely need a second 'fresher on this ship.

Entry 63

The last week has been somewhat boring. No missions—just simple trading runs. I really want to get back to Indupar to see my son, but we have deliveries set up for the next month.

Entry 64

We will be on Coruscant two days from now. I like it when our work brings us there. I get to see my brother, his wife and my little niece and Ben can see his family. Sometimes the Grand Master has us talk to the younger Jedi about our missions and what it is like to do work as a Guardian or a Sentinel.

Entry 65

We arrived to Coruscant today. Ben and Valla went off to see the Skywalker family. Zylie and I stayed behind so we could make arrangements for Princess. The kennel that usually takes care of her went out of business so we have to find somebody else crazy enough to care for a Vornskr. We called all around, but no luck. We were about to just leave her on the ship and check in with her twice a day when Zylie got a call from her father. Unexpected business brought him to the city-world and he wanted to get together. Of course he has his crew that takes care of his vornskr. His original animals died but I was told he has a new vornskr he purchased from a breeder on Myrkr. He offered to take care of Princess and I was more than willing to pawn her off on him. Maybe if I am lucky I can convince him to keep her. Ha! I'll never be that lucky.

Entry 66

I went to my brother's house and was ambushed by my little niece who Force jumped into my arms and gave me a big kiss on the cheek. I hugged her and then gave her a tickle that got her giggling. I wish I had moments like these with my son when he was this age. I held Jessa up above my head and smiled brightly. "How's my favorite little girl?"

"Good," came her reply. I see she is getting more teeth. She is cute. I put her on the floor and then gave my brother a hug and his wife Jysella a kiss on the cheek. Zylie greeted the two and then grabbed up Jessa in her arms and snuggled with her. I can tell Zylie wouldn't mind having a child of her own. She is great with Marcus, but she met him when he was nine years old and doesn't see him that often. I can tell she wants to be a mom. Maybe I will talk to her about it again. Last time she demurred because she didn't want to raise a child on a ship and she didn't want to leave her dad's trading operation. Maybe there is something she could do for the business on a planet like Coruscant…or Indupar. I should look into it.

"I heard you saw dad last month." My brother gave me a smirk as he led me into his family room. "He had to save you and Ben from being eaten by a Barabel."

I rolled my eyes. "I wish dad wouldn't tell people about that disastrous mission."

Jaden shook his head. "Dad didn't tell me, Marcus did."

My brow furrowed. "Marcus was here?"

"No, I was on Indupar. He invited our family to visit. I thought it would be nice for Jessa to see her cousin."

"Just for a visit?" I asked warily.

Jaden shrugged innocently. "Yeah, why?"

"Because I don't trust those seers. It seems like every time Marcus asks somebody to visit or go somewhere there's a reason.

"You're getting paranoid, little brother. We just visited and it was on my time schedule. It was an open invitation."

I sighed. "Okay."

"Why would he ask me to come there if it wasn't for a get together?"

"I don't know. Maybe if you weren't off planet you and the family would have had a speeder crash and all died."

My brother's eyes went wide. "Wouldn't he just tell me to stay inside that day?"

"I don't know? I'm not sure how the time stream works." I looked at him curiously. "How did the conversation get to me and my adventure on that Sith planet?"

"I think he was worried that you were mad at him. He asked me if you said anything. I told him no. Have you contacted him since the incident?"

I shook my head. "It's not something I want to discuss over the transceiver."

"Oh…well maybe when you are out for his coronation you can talk to him. You are going, aren't you?"

"Of course I am. Are you?"

"I wouldn't miss it. It is not often that a relative becomes a king…an Empress maybe or a Queen's consort…but rarely a King."

I chuckled. "It is going to be a major change for him and maybe for me and Zylie. We might be able to see him more often."

Jaden put an arm around my shoulder. "It's about time. You two need to bond."

"Yeah. Speaking of bonding. Let's go out for dinner. I'm buying."

Entry 67

I had a great time with my brother and his family. The next day Zylie and I went over to the Skywalker home to have dinner with Ben, Valla and my aunt and uncle. The twins and Hanna were out on missions so it was just the three couples. I always enjoy having dinner with my aunt and uncle…especially my aunt who is my former Master. I sometimes think I am closer to Aunt Mara than with my own mother. I am sure Ben feels the same way with my father.

"So, Talon," my aunt said while picking at her salad at the dinner table. "When are you and Zylie going to make your parents into grandparents?"

"They have Jessa…but I have been working at it diligently." I gave her a big poodoo eating grin that got me a slap on the shoulder from my wife.

"He needs to get a bigger StealthX cockpit," Ben said wryly. Zylie started coughing up her drink at that remark. Valla covered her face with her hand to hide a blush. I just stared at my cousin while gritting my teeth and imagining what a beating I wanted to give him right about now.

My Uncle Luke didn't look up from his plate. "Are you outgrowing your X-Wing already, Talon? Are we going to have to build some custom made fighters for you?"

My mouth drew into a tight line. I wasn't sure if my uncle was playing dumb or actually didn't notice the sarcastic edge in his son's voice. "No…Ben just thinks he's funny."

By now my aunt has figured out what must have happened. She turned away with a blush.

I glared at Ben. "We may need to remodel the 'fresher shower in the freighter. I think it might be too tight a fit for some people on the ship."

Now it was time for Ben to glower at me. We stared at each other in an awkward silence until my aunt broke the tension. "Stop it you two. I think everybody on this planet has tried to make out in a fighter cockpit or in a freighter 'fresher at one point in their life. Why Luke and I once…"

"Mara!" Uncle Luke said quickly. "Let's not bore the kids with stories of our youth."

Mara laughed before raising an eyebrow. "The story I was going to tell was anything but boring."

Ben blanched. "Please don't. I'm sorry for embarrassing Talon. It was uncalled for…just please, mom, don't reminisce about your love life with dad while I'm at the dinner table."

Mara rolled her eyes. "I see somebody can dish it out but can't take the teasing himself." She turned back to me. "You can't tell me your parents haven't been pressuring you about children."

I shook my head. "No, not yet."

Mara stared at me for a long moment. "That's odd. Kira always struck me as a woman who wanted to be a grandmother…but then I guess I am mistaken since Mark and her left their granddaughter behind on Coruscant and moved to Indupar so he could train a stranger." She gazed at me intently. "I've never understood that move. Do you?"

I was getting very uncomfortable with this conversation. "Is there a reason you are bringing up this subject…", I turned to my uncle, "again?" I have no idea why my father's departure from the order and moving to Indupar upset my former Master and the Grand Master so much. They didn't get upset when Jacen left the order to be with Tenel Ka or Jaina departed to the Imperial Remnant to be with her husband.

"I might as well tell you the truth." Luke shifted in his chair uncomfortably. "I discovered your father is now on the Chief-of-State's watch list."

That statement shocked me. What did my father do now? "Can I ask why?"

Luke shrugged. "I believe it has something to do with the Indupar monarchy annexing two more planets into its realm."

I let out a relieved breath. Chief-of-State Mokk Streke should have better things to worry about than a couple planets wanting to align themselves with the Indupar Crown Worlds. "First of all, the planets were not annexed. They petitioned the Royal House for citizenship in the Crown Worlds. Second, what does that have to do with my dad?"

Uncle Luke leaned back in his chair and took a sip of wine before answering. "Your father has been making multiple trips into Galactic Alliance territories over the last year. He's been arranging the purchase of Void Jumper suits, ships and weapon systems for the Indupar Crown Worlds." He put his glass down and scrutinized me, possibly looking for a reaction.

I looked back and forth between my uncle and aunt before throwing up my hands in confusion. "So? He works at the palace. He's a trained Void Jumper and Jedi. He's training the Force-strong Prince. He's a trusted servant of the monarchy there. Why shouldn't he be the person making these types of arrangements?" I shifted in my seat. "I'm sure everything is legal and on the up-and-up. If he wanted to smuggle stuff into Indupar he could easily do it. After all, he once worked for the galaxy's top smuggler turned legitimate businessman. I am fairly certain Talon Karrde could get my dad anything he wanted under the table. Streke is being his normal paranoid psychotic self." I took a couple of deep breaths to calm down. I was overreacting and that was suspicious itself. "Sorry…I'll tell my father he's being watched."

Luke nodded. "I wish he would tell me what the monarchy is doing with all that weaponry…and why he decided to live on Indupar."

I let loose a breath that was half frustration, half disbelief. I felt like I was being interrogated. "Whatever they'll doing, I know it doesn't involve you or the Jedi."

Luke pointed a finger at me. "That's where you're wrong. Rumor has it, the Chief-of-State believes your father is possibly working for me and using the Indupar Crown worlds to build a Force-strong army of Jedi Void jumpers."

Both Ben and I started cracking up. "What?" we said in unison.

"That is the craziest thing I have heard," I muttered with a roll of my eyes.

"Don't be dismissive when it comes to the Chief-of-State," Luke warned me. "Don't forget that holovid you acquired on Coronet City. Streke is working for someone who wants the Jedi off of Coruscant. He is looking for any reason to get us off planet. Do you recall what that mysterious man in the black stealth suit said? 'Send them all on a mission, a quest, anything! Just get them off planet'"

"We know it's insane," my Aunt Mara said apologetically, "but if he believes we are conspiring against him, he might use that as an excuse to banish the Jedi."

"And to make matters worse you dad went off to Bastion to inspect the Imperial Knights. I'm sure that kicked Streke's paranoia up a notch."

"Jania is his niece. Everybody believes my father is Aunt Mara's brother. It shouldn't be odd that he visited family."

"I know, I know," Luke mumbled. "The trouble is I have a Chief-of-State who thinks we are plotting against him and I don't know enough about what is happening on Indupar and your father's activities to alleviate his fears. I can't ignore him. You have to remember a majority of the Order's funding comes from the Galactic Alliance."

"And you serve the Alliance," I pointed out.

"That is true." Luke heaved a sigh. "I would like to be able to prove to the Chief-of-State that his concerns are unfounded. It would help if I had something to tell him. I think you can help me in this matter."

I bristled in irritation. "Are you asking me to spy on my father?"

"Talon," Mara said slowly. "That's not what we are asking. We were hoping you could simply ask your father what is going on."

I scoffed. "And if I discovered any information and you told Streke, why would he believe anything the Jedi tell him?"

Luke looked down at his plate, taking a thinking pause. "I just want to make the appearance that we are cooperating with him and to prove our loyalty to the Alliance."

"Why don't you ask my father yourself?"

Luke glanced over to Mara and I know some form of communication was going on between the two. Finally my uncle looked back to me. "We did ask and he refused to answer stating he was not at liberty to divulge any state secrets. If I told the Chief-of-State that Mark refused to tell us anything it will only pique his interest further. We thought Mark would talk to you." Luke gave me a pleading smile. "You're a Jedi. I was hoping you would take on this assignment from the Grand Master."

His words hit me like a blaster bolt to the heart. Was my uncle actually ordering me to interrogate my father? I looked over to Zylie and gave her a look that I knew she would interpret correctly. We're out of here.

I stood and placed my napkin on the table. "Thank you for dinner Grand Master Skywalker." I turned to my aunt. "Master Skywalker…but I think it is time for us to go."

"Talon, please sit down," my uncle stood and put his hands out in a placating gesture. "I'm not ordering you to spy on your dad as much as the monarchy. I need information that will dissuade Streke's belief that the Jedi are in some sort of alliance with the Indupar government."

I gave a snort of disbelief. "I'm not going to spy on my…my father's employer. Nothing is happening on Indupar. They are not planning galactic domination."

"How do you know that?" my Aunt asked.

"Because I have spoken to the Prince a number of times. And if you recall, Ben and I know the Queen. We protected her shortly after her husband's death. We are friendly with the Indupar monarchy. The Prince has a fascination with everything my father does or did in the military and Jedi. My dad was a Void Jumper and now the prince wants to learn how to Void Jump. My dad was a Jedi and he wants to be a trained Knight for his kingdom. Nothing nefarious is happening out there on Indupar. My father would never be involved in any conspiracy against the Alliance." I could feel a muscle twitch above one eyebrow. "Has my father ever given you reason to doubt his loyalty?"

Luke's eyes closed momentarily. "In fact he did. He knew about the Galactic Alliance using the Galaxy Gun to kill an entire race of invading species. He was complicit in genocide. He was the only Jedi that knew about the attack and he hid it from me."

"Dad," Ben came to my father's defense. "Mark said our conventional weapons were useless against these…Vong creatures. The Galaxy Gun allowed the attack to remain hidden until the warheads exited hyperspace and by then it was too late for them to respond. A prolonged war could have cost trillions of lives."

"What?" I shook my head in confusion. "How come I never heard about this before? When did this happen?"

Ben blushed. " It happened when we were small boys. He told me when I was his apprentice. It wasn't something he was proud of."

"Well," I said to my cousin slowly. "Since you were his apprentice maybe you should be sent there to spy on my dad, because I'm not going to do it." I looked back to my aunt and uncle. "I'll ask him or the prince anything you want, but Iwill tell them why I'm asking."

"That's all we can ask Talon," Mara said softly.

"Fine," I turned to Zylie. "Let's go."

"Talon, please don't be like this," Ben stood and followed me to the door.

I turned and put my hand on my cousin's shoulder and leaned in to whisper to him. "I'll ask my dad what's going on. Okay? But know this, I won't reveal any information that will put my son's life at risk."

Ben frowned at me. "Talon, you and I both know Indupar is not building an army to attack the Alliance."

I glared at him. "Think about the seers. If the seers saw Streke as a threat to the galaxy they would stop at nothing to remove the threat. You have seen how they work. I can't guarantee what Indupar is up to with their maneuverings."

Ben's face fell. "You're right."

"I'll see you back at the freighter." With that said Zylie and I left. I know I was a little short with my uncle and aunt, but anytime Indupar comes up in a conversation I get worried. I need to give my dad a call and tell him Mokk Streke is looking at him suspiciously.