Ten Months Later
Diedridus IV was a world in the Unknown Regions that was home to many runaways, namely teenage ones, that was surprisingly well-kept, free of pollution, and fit several definitions of the word "paradise" throughout the galaxy. And among the varying species of the Unknown Regions, many of whom had never been seen by those who inhabited the known galaxy, Ben and Vestara were able to blend in and live a peaceful and frugal lifestyle.
They lived along the shore of a beach, as many of the planet's inhabitants did, in a rustic hut that, while lacking in modern amenities, still served as a functional home for the young couple... and their baby boy.
As part of his function in the economy that the planet had, Ben's job was to work for eight hours a day down in a mineshaft; there, he helped dig up lodes of precious ores that the planet exported to interested parties that had nothing to do with the Chiss Ascendancy. He, thankfully, had a protective gas mask and suit that prevented him from getting radiation poisoning, the same that his coworkers all had on, as well
In return, Ben, naturally, received payments in food, water, and milk for his son. Ves, for her part, took on the role of maternal caregiver to her child since Ben was able to provide enough for the both of them. So, overall, Ben had been treated very well since he and Ves came here nearly a year before.
After a long day at work, Ben returned to the hut with a bag of groceries; while tonight was leftover night, it never hurt to prepare for tomorrow, he idly thought.
But upon returning, he dropped the bag when he saw Vestara sitting at the table, with Luke and Jacen standing at either side of her. While her expression was downcast and evasive, theirs was cold yet collected, and aimed directly at Ben.
"Hello, Ben," Luke said. "It's good to see you again."
"How did you find us?" Ben asked in shock.
"It wasn't easy," Jacen said. "I agreed to help your father look up and down the Unknown Regions for you. Considering the fact that you'd closed yourself off from the Force, we had to look long and hard."
A long, silent moment passed as Ben allowed all of this to sink into his head. Then he said, "So now you found me. What now?"
"Well, first, Ben," Luke said, "Jacen and I wanted to ask a few questions. Then we intend to take you back to Coruscant."
"Coruscant? So the Jedi Order's been accepted back into the Galactic Alliance?" Ben asked casually, as if he was already recovering from the shock of seeing his father and cousin here.
"It has," Jacen confirmed.
"Good to hear," Ben replied noncommittally. "But I'm not going back with you."
"You're still not an adult yet, Ben," Luke pointed out. "But even if you wanted to stay here, Vestara has a lot to answer for."
Ves gave Ben a silent, pleading look; this prompted him to look back at his family members and say, "Dad, Jacen, please. Don't do this. Ves and I have a perfectly good life here."
"We can see that," Jacen said. "But while starting a family is an admirable goal, you can't just abandon everyone who ever cared about you and-"
"Abandoned?" Ben asked indignantly. "You're all adults; you don't need me."
"But this is different, Ben," Luke said. "You had responsibilities to the Jedi Order. You left us when we needed you most."
"I was going to be a father!" Ben said. "I didn't want Ves to get hurt! She was right to take us away from the war between the Jedi and the Sith! All it ever brings is violence and heartache!"
"I thought we were over this, Ben," Jacen said.
"I'm not angry at you for my mom or Caedus anymore, Jacen," Ben countered. "That was settled; but Ves let me see that we needed to get away from all of you if we were to ever truly live."
"Ves has been using you, Ben," Luke said.
"That's what he told you, Dad," Ben nearly shouted. "She loves me as much as I love her. Can't you see that? Do you see any violence and strife going on outside?"
"She manipulated you, Ben!" Jacen pointed out.
"At first I did," Ves said.
Everyone else in the room looked at her now.
"That was true," Ves continued. "Let me emphasize was. But even then, I did care about Ben; for all of his pain, I saw how good of a person he was. He was unlike anyone else in the Lost Tribe, even among our most gracious and kindest members. Ben helped me come to see how dark and corrupt the Lost Tribe truly was even when I was trying to get him to see the beauty of the dark side."
"So when exactly did you change your mind?" Jacen was the one to ask.
"When Grand Lord Vol told me that if worse came to worse, Ben would die," Ves said. "And I didn't want to raise my child without a father." She looked specifically up at Jacen. "That's why I turned on them back on that ChaseMaster; and it wasn't just to save Ben, either, but it was to save you, too."
"Why me? For all you knew, Ben still hated me."
"Maybe; but you still cared about him nonetheless. Oh, yes, my parents cared about me; my father, a Sith Saber, did love me, but only as much as his Sith teachings would allow. You, Jacen, loved Ben with all your heart even when he gave you nothing but hate in return."
"Well, thank you," Jacen said politely. "But that doesn't excuse everything you did before then."
"I've forgiven her, Jacen!" Ben shouted.
It was that that prompted an infant's crying in the next room.
"Can I please tend to my child?" Ves asked earnestly.
Jacen looked at Luke, who nodded back.
"Go ahead," Jacen said.
Ves stood up and walked over to the next room.
As the baby's crying turned into soft coos that became barely audible here, more silence passed for several seconds before Luke asked, "What's his name?"
"What?" Ben asked.
"What's your child's name, Ben?" Luke elaborated.
Ben hesitated. But he answered with, "Gavar. He's named after Vestara's father."
"I see." Luke's tone gave no indication as to how he felt about that.
Another silent, awkward moment passed before Ben asked, "You're gonna have her imprisoned, aren't you? You're gonna separate us; you're gonna take her from our child."
Luke and Jacen spared each other a look before returning their gaze back to Ben.
"She'll be safe in the Jedi Temple, Ben," Jacen said.
"Yeah, in some cold cell in some subbasement," Ben countered with a sneer.
"It won't be like that," Jacen said. "She'll be as comfortable as we can make her."
"But she'll still be in prison," Ben countered.
"That's how it'll have to be," Jacen said.
"Ben, this isn't just about you," Luke said. "As a Sith, Vestara was complicit in so many of her people's crimes. Justice has to be paid."
"Justice, huh?" Ben retorted. "Last I checked, the Jedi Order doesn't operate in the Unknown Regions. And Diedridus IV has no extradition treaty with the Galactic Alliance. If you wanna get legal here, you have no jurisdiction here."
"Actually, we've cleared it with this planet's authorities," Luke said. "Once we explained your situation with Vestara, they gave us full permission to take the both of you, as well as your baby, of course, off this planet and back into our jurisdiction."
Ben was taken aback for a moment before he stammered, "Y-you're lying."
"I'm not," Luke said. "And you know I'm not, Ben."
Indeed, Ben could sense no hint of deceit or evasiveness that could disguise deception from his father's Force-presence.
Ben sighed in defeat; and for the first time since he came here with Ves, tears of sorrow, rather than tears of joy for when his child was born, flowed from his eyes.
"So that's how it's gonna be, huh?" Ben asked.
Both Luke and Jacen nodded gravely.
Ben took a deep breath before letting it out in an attempt to allow himself to relax. "Then... at the very least... let me bring her out."
"Go on, Ben," Luke allowed.
Ben then walked to his son's bedroom; but upon opening it...
Both Ves and baby Gavar were gone.
. . .
According to the reports from Diedridus IV's authorities, Ves had managed to escape using a tunnel that she had been digging beneath her baby's room that led to one of the planet's nearby spaceports.
It was guesswork, but if she had managed to get that far, there was little to no doubt that she could have stowed away aboard any of the transport ships with Gavar and escaped. At this point, she could be practically anywhere in the Unknown Regions.
And Ben couldn't even sense her, or their baby, even if he tried.
Sitting at the foot of his bed as the Jade Shadow brought him back to Coruscant, Ben wondered how he could go on without Vestara or Gavar. He had been with them for so long, especially with Ves; she was like a drug to him, as cliched as it sounded, that he feared that he might die from the withdrawal from being away from her.
There was a knock on his door. He looked up, already knowing who it was, and reluctantly said, "Come in."
The door opened and Jacen entered.
The two of them stared at each other wordlessly for quite some time before Jacen said, "If we can't find Ves or your child, Ben... then maybe it's for the best."
Ben couldn't help but chuckle in spite of himself. "Best for Ves, maybe. But I doubt my dad would wanna give up on his grandson that easily."
"Oh, he has no intention of giving up on looking for Ves," Jacen said. "Trust me on that." He allowed a moment of silence to pass before he said, "But as far as I'm concerned, now that you're back, I see no other reason to go after them. Not even for justice; because, right now, wherever Ves is, she's probably hurting as much as you. Me, personally? I think that's punishment enough."
Ben cocked an eyebrow. "Why wouldn't you wanna help save Gavar? You are related to him; he's family, after all."
"I'll let your father handle that by himself," Jacen said.
"He let you give up?" Ben asked in mild surprise.
"He let me off the hook, let's just say," Jacen said. "He said to me, 'Jacen, I don't wanna drag you into this. You've done more than enough for me in helping bring Ben back.' So I said, 'Okay, Uncle Luke. Thank you.'"
"That's it, huh?" Ben asked.
Jacen nodded. "That's it." Another silent beat passed. "Do you need anything?"
"Aside from the obvious?" Ben asked cavalierly.
Jacen sighed. "I didn't think so. Get some rest. Good night."
"Jacen?" Ben asked just as his cousin turned.
"Yes?" Jacen asked as he turned back.
"Thank you."
Jacen gave a trademark Solo grin. "Don't mention it, kid." He left Ben alone then.
As Ben allowed himself to sulk for what felt like forever, he felt like he was on the verge of crying once more.
But that was stopped when he felt an all-too familiar twinge in the Force; it occurred somewhere in his very being.
It was over as quickly as it occurred; but as he hurriedly adopted a meditative pose on his bed to try to find out what it was, he had a feeling that he already knew.
He searched for what it could be, and it was...
Ves. It was Ves. She had reached out to him, however so briefly, through the Force to leave him with three solid words.
I'm so sorry, Ben.
Then Ben cried as he realized that she was apologizing for more than just leaving him.