Of the Forgotten
Epilogue
When Tenel Ka first showed Jacen their baby daughter Allana prior to the Swarm War, they had been instantly attacked by Gorog assassins. The Jedi had been successful in killing all of the assassins, and Jacen and Tenel Ka had both determined that it was Ta'a Chume who had sent them. Jacen interrogated Ta'a Chume herself about this, and while she didn't directly confess, it was quite clear that she had sent the Gorog in to kill the baby for some unknown reason.
Jacen let the old woman off on this by reminding her that her granddaughter was still the Hapan Queen Mother, and she could do anything to her, regardless of Ta'a Chume's own supporters. Ta'a Chume, in turn, reminded Jacen outright that she knew who the infant's father was, and threatened to not only tell all the Consortium, but would have the child targeted again. Jacen returned that with the fact that even without the baby's great-grandmother targeting her for death, Allana would still be marked for death by others in the Consortium, and that Tenel Ka by herself could defend her own daughter from whatever came her way.
Five years after that encounter between Jacen and Ta'a Chume, the latter had finally succumbed to her old age. And in her will, she had outright revealed that Jacen was Allana's father. Word spread quickly throughout the Hapes Consortium, and then poured out to the rest of the galaxy. In the days that followed Ta'a Chume's death, Jacen had been constantly harassed by the media, whose overall collective question was: "How could a Jedi like you be so irresponsible?"
And that was what prompted him, a year after the World Brain's death, to step into Grand Master Skywalker's office, lay down his lightsaber on his uncle's desk, and say, "Master Skywalker, I'm here to formally resign from the Jedi Order."
In spite of his reluctance, Luke had allowed Jacen to go, though he let the younger man take his lightsaber with him. Luke's question to Jacen before he stepped out of his office was, "Where will you go from here, Jacen?"
Jacen had stopped at the door and turned back to his uncle. "I have a responsibility to fulfill," he said, and said no more as he left.
Two days after that, having taken a public shuttle to Hapes, in spite of his infamy for spawning Tenel Ka's child, he landed on the planet and met up with the Queen Mother herself and their redheaded daughter. However, they were forced to do it amidst an open field outside the palace, where they were surrounded by Hapan paparazzi.
It was embarrassing to say the least.
From then on, Jacen had been forever bound by Tenel Ka, the woman who ruined his life with his true love, Danni Quee, through a forced marriage that took place a week later. All those who attended, including his parents, his sister, his friends, felt just as embarrassed by Jacen's circumstances as he was.
And when he took that forced kiss with Tenel Ka, he knew he could never be with Danni ever again.
The End.
