"Luke, I..."

The clatter of boots slowed to a halt somewhere behind him even as Mara's voice trailed away into breathless shock.

He felt the weight of her stare, heard the horror in her silences. But Luke didn't dare turn around to reassure her. Even unarmed, Jacen was dangerous and he'd shown himself to be both inventive and insane enough to try anything. One moment's inattention and Jacen might turn defeat into another deadly battle for survival. With Mara and Ben there, he couldn't take any chances.

Worse yet, danger was still pouring into the air. Luke could feel the menace of it skittering across his skin and the threat seemed to arc across to Mara and their son. It was growing stronger with every heartbeat.

Fear clawed at his throat; the peril should be abating, not expanding like a thermal detonator blast and certainly not centering on his family. He had to get them out of there before it was too late.

Shoving the black controller into his tunic and out of Jacen's reach, Luke said sharply, "Stay back, Mara." He motioning her away with his free hand. "And keep Ben with you. Jacen attacked me and I'm afraid he might go after you next."

While he was speaking, his nephew shifted slightly, his face suddenly hidden from view of the others. Staring at Luke, Jacen's eyes gleamed hate-yellow, his mouth peeled back into a feral snarl. He looked very much a demon of old legend, one who would bring destruction to all he knew, wrecking havoc upon the innocents of the galaxy.

An instant later, Jacen's face smoothed, his eyes morphing back into muddy brown. With the cunning of a shapeshifter or consummate actor, he twisted sideward into full view of his intended audience. Hunching his shoulders, his skin gone suddenly pale, his whole being seemed to radiate pain; it was as if he'd been battered and beaten by a remorseless enemy and was now hanging on only by a single thread.

He certainly did not look like an aggressive would-be Sith attempting to murder his own kin. Instead, he looked like a victim of a brutal attack.

If Luke hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he'd have never believed it possible.

"Ben, get back. Luke's gone mad." Jacen's voice seemed to quaver with exhaustion. "He tried to kill me. He might try to hurt you, too." Then he backed up, flinching away from Luke, acting as if he were frightened or bewildered by the turn of events. One hand trembled over his wound; drops of bright blood trickled through his fingers.

If this had been a holodrama, he would have been applauding. But now Luke could only stand, appalled, and watch Jacen twist the truth.

"Jacen!" Behind Luke, Ben's young voice sounded frantic, desperate, horrified. Then he could hear Mara's furious whispers and boots scuffing the floor; it sounded very much like an argument between mother and son. "Mom, let me go!"

It didn't seem possible but Jacen's face grew paler, his mouth pinched in pain, his eyes bruised. Looking past Luke's shoulder, he put up a blood-stained hand, waving it wildly in Ben's direction. With breathless urgency, he panted, "No, Ben, don't get any closer. He's crazy, I tell you." Then Jacen gave a weak little cough and drew back, leaning on the console, using it for support.

"Enough!" Mara was just behind Luke, muttering under her breath about fools and rushing into traps without backup. "I'll take it from here, Skywalker."

Then from behind him, softly, barely a whisper, she said, "You need bacta."

Luke couldn't disagree. Much as he wanted to ignore it, his back was cloaked in molten agony. Every time he took in a breath, he could feel the white stab of imbedded metal and the ooze of burnt flesh. Exhaustion was just a heartbeat away; the fight had taken more out of him that he'd like to admit. But he couldn't leave Mara there, not alone with Jacen. He was too dangerous.

"Mara, he's..."

Before he could say anything else, Jacen interrupted again, spitting out lies with formidable skill. "Aunt, I'm glad you came back. He's gone mad. He attacked me, accusing me of terrible things. I was barely able to get away from the worst of it." His nephew grunted as if in pain and then wheezed out, "You have to help me."

"Looks to me like he got the worst of it, not you." Mara sounded hard as duracreet and just as understanding. "Ben, help your father back to the ship. Jacen and I are going to have a little talk."

Jacen's face fell, then he shook his head, looking disappointed and almost sad, his voice quavering. "I didn't do that. It was from the meteor strike. Sent up a wall of lava. Uncle Luke was close to the edge of the balcony." His eyes seemed to beg for understanding. "Please, Aunt, you have to believe me. He's crazy."

"I'm sure." The sarcastic tone was pure Mara.

However, while they were arguing, it was apparent that Ben had his own agenda. From out of the corner of his eye, Luke could see his son moving closer, slowly and quietly angling toward his cousin. Ben had had some stealth training in the Galactic Alliance Guard, against the wishes of the Jedi Council and Luke's own better judgement. Now his son was trying to use it to go around them to reach Jacen, to help him somehow, perhaps to escape, to see to his wound, to protect him from attack.

But Luke knew it would only make things worse. Ben had no idea of the corrupt man that Jacen had become.

If only he could get his son to understand that Jacen Solo was using Ben for his own purposes. This act of being hurt, of lying about how he got injured was not for Luke's benefit or even Mara's but for Ben's. It remained to be seen if Ben would recognize the fact.

For a fleeting moment, beneath the agony of torn skin, beneath the growing concern of black spots now threatening behind his eyes, a sure sign that he'd pushed himself too hard, Luke wished that he'd handled it differently, handled it all so differently. He should have realized Jacen's madness before this. He should have investigated all the whispers of torture and innocents dead. He should have taken his only son back and trained him in the ways of the Force, kept him firmly in the Light.

Now it was too late for recriminations. Now he had to make sure it did not go wrong somehow.

If he didn't, it could become very dangerous very fast.

Mara must have reached the same conclusion. Dagger-sharp, she said, "Ben Skywalker, do as I say."

"But Mom, he's hurt." Luke could hear the worry in Ben's voice and the disbelief.

Jacen ducked his head slightly, turning away so that he was just out of Ben's line of sight, and sent Luke a lightning-quick smile full of triumph, his eyes flashing savage yellow. Then his face crumpled as he moaned, "Ben, I..." He sounded desperate, on the very edge of agony.

There was a sudden rustle of cloth behind Luke and as Ben jerked forward, Mara came into view, one hand tightly clenched in their son's tunics, her other hand holding onto her blaster, still pointing it straight at Jacen. She looked furious and Luke couldn't blame her.

With every heartbeat, Luke could feel the danger worsening and he knew Mara did as well. The Force was roiling in it, shadowy streamers of menace that smoked around his family, centered now on their son. He knew that it would take but a moment for everything to turn into disaster.

"So is your father." With a determined yank, Mara pulled Ben back just out of sight as she snapped, "And I don't believe him for one moment. Now get to the ship!"

He had never heard his son sound so angry. "You can take care of Dad. Who's going to help Jacen? He's bleeding and you just ignore him, like he's trash."

"We'll help Jacen, Ben, I promise," Luke said softly, almost desperately. Trying to ignore the pain that was threatening to overwhelm him, knowing that he had to diffuse the situation and quickly, he nodded toward the exit. "You go and get the medical supplies ready and we'll..."

Jacen must have seen something, perhaps realized that he was losing his hold over Ben or that his time for action was passing quickly. Whatever it was, he shook his head, looking half-wild with terror. "No, don't leave me. He's crazy. He'll do something." He grabbed onto the console, smearing blood across the duraplast. "Help me, Ben."

"Jacen!" Ben sounded frantic, almost breathless. Then there was a soft curse and his son lurched into view. His tunic was torn and he looked even more furious than Mara had a few moments before. "You're always telling me to trust my feelings. So I am."

Yanking out his blaster and pointing it at them both, Ben said, "He's my Master and I'm going to keep him safe no matter what."

"Ben, no!" Mara stepped toward him, her hand reaching out.

Luke could feel the currents of the Force being twisted into effort as she tried to pull the blaster from Ben's grasp, but he must have held it too tightly for even her strength. There was a grunt of indignation and Mara's other hand, weapon clenched in her fist, flicked toward their son, and away from Jacen.

Everything erupted into chaos.