Myrkr System

Mark piloted his ship to Karrde's Myrkr facility and set down on the large landing pad located outside the main compound.

He turned to Jacen and gave him a lopsided grin as he gestured to forest outside the viewport. "Welcome to the beautiful planet of Myrkr. Home to ysalamiri, vornskrs and scenic olbio trees," Mark chuckled. He unbuckled his crash webbing and then got up and unlocked the restraints holding Jacen to the seat and pulled him into a standing position. Grabbing the nutrient cage with his pet ysalamiri, Mark guided Jacen out the ship's egress. Jacen complied silently, exiting the ship and shuffling across the landing pad.

"Did you know Luke was once held captive here by Mara?" Mark said with a reminiscent smile as they walked toward the main building. "Mara never admitted it to me, but I'm sure this is where those two first fell in love."

"I know the story," Jacen shot back. "Why am I here?"

"The same reason Luke was brought here. It's a good place to keep a Jedi captive." Mark glanced over to Jacen. "Maybe being surrounded by thousands of ysalamiri will reduce your dark side tendencies."

"I don't have dark side tendencies." Jacen said defiantly. "And you're one to talk. Look at yourself…you've gone dark. How long have you been Sith!"

"I'm not Sith." Mark chuckled. "You're the one running around with a known Sith, not me."

"You have no proof of that and you're the one with the telltale yellow Sith eyes." Jacen pointed out.

Mark smirked as they entered the building. "I guess you have me all figured out, Jacen. Mark Tantiss, Jedi Master, veteran of thirty-eight New Republic and Galactic Alliance combat operations and an equal amount of Jedi missions is secretly a Sith and patiently waiting for the right moment to take over the galaxy. When my sons have provided me enough grandchildren my family can rise up together and conquer the known universe." Mark raised his free hand into the air in a grand gesture and then gave a sardonic laugh.

Jacen glowered at Mark. "Joke if you want, but I felt the darkness within you."

Mark grabbed Jacen's shoulder bringing him to a halt. He gave his nephew a cool gaze. "You're right. There is darkness within me. It was brought out through Mara's death. You are the reason I'm like this."

"I didn't kill Aunt Mara," Jacen said through clentched teeth.

"Sure you did," he said disdainfully. "You can't lie to me Jacen."

He gave Jacen's shoulder a slight push to get him walking again. They moved into the building and down the austere, dusty corridor until they came to a small room furnished with a steel frame bed and little else.

"Lay down on the bed," Mark ordered.

Jacen looked like he wasn't going to refuse, but then decided against it. He flopped down on the bunk lying on his back. Mark brought his arms above his head, unlocked one cuff and ran it behind on of the rails of the bed backboard and then re-cuffed Jacen.

Jacen yanked at the cuffs angrily. "You're actually stun cuffing me to a bed."

Mark smirked. "It's not that uncomfortable. I once spent an entire day…" Mark stopped suddenly and blushed. "Just shut up and rest. You need to heal. Meanwhile I'm having Jaden fly in to patch you up." He turned and left the room.

Once Mark was gone Jacen began testing the strength of his restraints. He pulled and jerked the stuncuffs in an attempt to break free of the bedpost rail.

'He won't get away with this,' Jacen fumed. 'My family will come for me.'

By now, his parents and siblings must have noticed his absence and they would be looking for him. After all, people knew he was alive and in Mark's custody. He wasn't sure who his uncle was talking to on the subspace transceiver the first time, but his Aunt Kira definitely knew he was with Mark and now he was bringing in his son.

He stopped in thought. Why call in Jaden? Why not, Cilghal?

An alarming thought crossed his mind. Did Mark's family know he was Sith? Could he have been serious when he said his family would rule the galaxy? Was his first step the infiltration of the Jedi Order? Lumiya once told Jacen that Palpatine used Force Stealth and Buried Presence to hide his dark side affiliation from the Jedi Council for decades. Could Mark have already turned his sons and perhaps other Jedi in the temple?

Jaden was a healer and not much of a threat, but Talon Tantiss was a different story. He was one of the Jedi's fiercest fighters. He could best most opponents with a lightsaber—with the exception of Jacen's sister, Jaina, and his Aunt Mara.

His Aunt Mara….

Jacen groaned inwardly at the thought of his aunt. Was she really dead? Did Lumiya betray him? Deep down, knew it was a possibility. She was Sith, and if she wanted to cut him off from the Jedi, killing his aunt would guarantee he would have no place to go but to her. He shook his head. No, if she betrayed him, he would never return to Lumiya. Perhaps Tenel Ka would help him. She was his wife…their love should be unconditional. She was also the ruler of over sixty-three star systems, there had to be a place where he could hide out. She would understand him wanting Ta'a Chume dead…and if Mara was dead…Tenel Ka would know he would never hurt his aunt on purpose. She would help him.

He craned his head back to inspect his restraints. The bed was old and rusty. If he could break the welds of the railing and there was a chance he could escape his captor and go into hiding…but not before he warned his family that a Sith had infiltrated the Jedi Order.

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When Mark came into Jacen's room late that night to check on him, he wasn't wearing his customary Jedi outfit, but black cargo pants and a dark grey compression shirt. Over his clothing was a scratched and dented dull gray Beskar armor chest plate with matching codpiece. He also carried a dangerous looking blaster rifle that looked more like a handheld cannon.

"You look dressed to kill," Jacen remarked tensely.

A cocky smile appeared on his uncle's face. "You like the outfit?" He looked down and gave his clothing an appraising gaze. "I never liked Jedi Robes. They make me look fat."

Jacen gave an amused snort. "They do make your butt look a little big," Jacen said sarcastically.

His uncle gave him a grin. "There's the nephew I once knew." His smile waned as he gazed at Jacen. "The dark side…it changes people."

Jacen stared into his uncle's yellow stained eyes. "What are you going to do with me? Are you going to kill me?"

Mark shook his head. "No, I'm not going to hurt you Jacen. You're useful. You're the bait that's going to help me catch a big fish." He hoisted the blaster rifle up into a port arms position. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to zero my weapon. I'm expecting company."

Jacen was momentarily confused. "What do you mean I'm bait? What company? Who are you going to shoot?" When he didn't receive a response Jacen brought his head up, searching for his uncle, but he was already gone.

"I'm bait?" he whispered to himself as a shiver ran down his spine. Could Mark be using him to lure Luke and possibly Jacen's family into a trap? Was he intent on blasting them while they were Force blind?

"Oh no," he groaned as he banged his cuffs against the bedrail, renewing his effort to escape. He didn't know what his uncle planned, but he had a very bad feeling about this.

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The next morning Mark heard a ship approach the area. He immediately turned off the holonet show he was watching and snatched up his blaster rifle by its sling and pulled it over his shoulder. He checked his belt and made sure his lightsaber and side blaster were in place before he moved to the front building entrance.

He hoped it was Jaden coming to check up on Jacen's condition, but it wasn't. Instead an unfamiliar ship was landing. It was a long, sleek ship that looked a bit like a militarized JS-6 Shuttle. He could see turboblasters on the underbelly of the craft but they appeared to be in the retracted position and not scanning for a target.

He waited until the ship powered down and the ramp lowered before he ventured out from behind the cover of an exterior fortification wall.

A woman stalked down the ramp. She was wearing a formfitting black leather outfit with a matching silk cape flowing behind her. On her head was a strange triangular headpiece with a cloth veil concealing the lower portion of her face. When she reached the bottom of the boarding ramp, she activated a nasty looking Force whip and spun it around her in an impressive show of skill. The deadly weapon moved so fast Mark could only make out a blur of blue energy whirling up and around her.

Mark realized Jacen's Master had finally come to fetch him. This was definitely the woman from the gym and he was positive he knew her identity. He was now standing face-to-face with Lumiya, Dark Lady of the Sith.

Mark grinned. "This should be fun."