Planet Lavisar: Dormock Genetic Center

Jacen set his ship down in a public docking bay and immediately wished he had hired a nondescript shuttle to travel in. His StealthX fighter was much too unique to not attract attention. The star-stippled pattern on its matte-black fiberplast body made it hard to see in space, but it was very noticeable when parked between a broken down passenger shuttle and a light freighter that looked like it should have been decommissioned thirty years ago. Already there were more than a few pilots taking notice of his ship.

He did take the precaution to not look like a Jedi. He wore the non-descript street clothing he had on when he travelled to Lorrd, but he removed his ever-present Jedi robe in exchange for a common jacket. Hopefully he could blend in with the locals.

He didn't want anybody finding out he met with the genetisict who once worked for Palpatine, but he was woefully unprepared for this undertaking. He realized he couldn't hide his ship from the security holocams, but he could try to disguise his face. He rummaged through the small pilot cargo compartment inside the cockpit and pulled out a wide brim hat and some sunglasses he had used during a mission to Tatooine.

He put them on and climbed out of his fighter, making sure it was secured and locked down. He could see his reflection in the transparisteel of the shuttle next to him and grimaced. He looked like a holostar making a pathetic attempt at maintaining anonymity. He sighed, realizing there was nothing he could do about it now. He would hide his movements the best he could using a Jedi technique called Force-Flash. It was the ability to use the Force to temporarily disable security holocams. It would cause a brief period of static and allow Jacen to move unseen and unrecorded.

He traveled to the Genetic Center via an air taxi. When he arrived he went up to the receptionist and reluctantly removed his hat and shades and hoped the static from the Force-Flash technique wouldn't make security guards too suspicious if it lasted more than a minute or two. Luckily the building was a civilian medical center and therefore was not as secure as a government building.

He gave the receptionist a warm, disarming smile and told her what Lumiya instructed him to say earlier. "I am here to see Doctor Mak Draco. I'm the doctor's cousin, Jarod."

She gave Jacen a genuine smile as she talked into small comlink device attached to her ear.

"The doctor said he will see you," she said after a moment. "His office is down at the end of the hall on the right."

"Thank you."

Jacen walked to the end of the hall and into huge laboratory. Off to the side was an office; the name on the door said Dr. Mak Draco. Jacen walked into the office and found an old man in this late sixties or seventies staring intently at a datapad.

"Doctor Draco," Jacen said as he extended his hand. "I'm… Jarod…your cousin."

The man chuckled at the charade. "Why of course, it's been a while Jarod." He motioned to a chair. "Close the door and please sit down."

Jacen secured the door and then took the seat across from the doctor's desk. The old man looked at Jacen studying his features intently and the Jedi could sense a faint flicker of recognition in his eyes. Jacen realized the man might know his face. He wasn't as well known as his mother and father, but he did appear on the HoloNet occasionally. He quickly used the Force to pull the man's attention away from his features. The doctor made a small shrug of his shoulders, obviously deciding he didn't know Jacen after all.

The doctor shifted in his seat uneasily. "Lumiya said to expect you, but she didn't expand as to what you wanted done."

"I was told you worked with Nanoviruses."

The old man's eyebrows shot up unable to hide his anxiety. He pushed a button on his desk and the transparisteel walls of his office suddenly went opaque concealing them from anybody outside. "Stang! I knew owing Lumiya a favor would someday bite me in the butt." His eyes narrowed. "Nanoviruses are costly, dangerous, and highly illegal." He paused. "I'm not saying I won't do it, but you must know what you are getting into."

"I don't want a nanovirus exactly. I ah…I don't think what I want is illegal. " Jacen hesitated; he wasn't sure exactly what he wanted. "Well, to be honest, I have reason to believe an enemy plans on killing two…friends of mine with a nanovirus. I'd like to find out if it is possible to create a vaccine to prevent them from being harmed."

The geneticist's shoulders relaxed. "A vaccine." His brow furrowed in thought. "If I knew what the virus was, I could make a vaccine."

Jacen's shoulders slumped. "That's the problem. As far as I know the virus hasn't been created yet, but it would most likely be a DNA specific attack. Using your vast experience could you use the DNA of the people I want to save to figure out how a nanovirus would most likely be created and design a vaccine to counter it?"

Doctor Draco sat back in his chair, eyes unblinking. "It's possible to make an educated guess, but that's all it would be…a guess." He leaned forward and gave Jacen a slight deprecating smile. "Wouldn't it be easier to just kill their enemy?"

Jacen lowered his head. "It wouldn't be easy at all; the person is extremely well protected."

"How about using a nanovirus against them?"

Jacen shook his head. "Even if I wanted to, I don't have her DNA, although she is a relative to the people I want to protect."

"So, it's a female relative to the two people whose DNA you are providing. Depending on the relationship, I may be able to do that."

Jacen looked up sharply. "How?"

"Is the target a close relative of the two people you wish to save?"

"She is the paternal grandmother to one and great grandmother to the other."

The doctor nodded. "Paternal…so there is not a direct female line, therefore mitochondrial DNA won't help." The doctor paused in thought. "If we can locate a specific genetic variation in single-nucleotide polymorphisms within cellular DNA of the two people you wish saved, then a nanovirus could theoretically be developed to attack only those people with that particular genomic sequence. I can then create a vaccine for those people you wish to spare." The doctor gave Jacen a steady gaze. "Would this be something you would be interested in?"

Jacen hesitated and took a shuddering breath. He was considering taking the first step in murdering Ta'a Chume. Once he set on this path he would have crossed a line no Jedi would or should evercross. Assassination was not the way of the Jedi…unfortunately it was the way of the Hapans. "It would only kill somebody with the exact type of DNA markers?" he asked , feeling sick to his stomach while doing so.

The doctor nodded. "With the exact single-nucleotide polymorphism, yes. If the target has siblings, sons or daughters…they will be susceptible, but normally there is enough dilution of genetic markers to keep a nanovirus within a close nit family."

Jacen did a quick calculation in his head. Ta'a Chume's siblings were dead …so he didn't have to worry about them. Ta'a Chume had her oldest son murdered, leaving only her younger son, Prince Isolder. Jacen didn't want Tenel Ka's farther hurt. Perhaps he could find a way to keep him out of danger.

'What am I thinking,' Jacen felt cold inside. He wanted his mother-in-law out of his life more than anything, but this was wrong.

The doctor saw his hesitation. "Do you want time to think about this?"

Jacen closed his eyes and thought about the dozen assassinations attempts in the last few years. He remembered the slow painful death Tenel Ka's mother suffered, the amputation of that poor body-double's arm, and now his daughter was seriously injured and submerged in a bacta tank. Tenel Ka didn't believe it was all the doing of her Grandmother, but Jacen wasn't convinced. The bottom line was killing Ta'a Chume would remove the biggest threat to his family and the galaxy would be better place without her.

"How much would that cost?" Jacen asked not believing what he was saying. He tried to reach out with the Force for guidance, but the Force was silent.

"One million credits, untraceable and I have to emphasis untraceable…this cannot be tracked back to me," the doctor's voice took on a threatening tone. "You must assure this. I don't want to be executed before I can spend my credits."

Jacen's took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He knew Lumiya was getting a million credits from the person soliciting the hit, but if she didn't want to part with the money he knew of dozens of secret bank accounts Tenel Ka had scattered around the galaxy. It was emergency funds in case she needed to flee danger. Each account contained millions of untraceable credits… and Jacen had full access. "It won't be traced back to you. I can get you half now and half when the product is done."

The geneticist nodded. "That'll be fine."

"Good, how long will it take to develop such a weapon?" Jacen asked.

"A couple weeks."

Jacen blood drained from the Jedi's face as he said the fateful words that would forever change his life. "Do it."