Myrkr

Jacen watched as his Uncle Mark abruptly left the room, quickly followed by his Uncle Luke. He went to sit up but realized his hand was cuffed to the bedrail. He looked at the shackle in confusion. "Why am I cuffed?" His gaze moved to his family members who were standing around his bed with grief stricken faces and looking like they just attended a funeral wake.

"Why am I shackled?" Jacen repeated. His family members all exchanged glances before Jaden spoke up.

"Sorry about that Jacen. You were thrashing about a bit and pulling out your IV. Talon, get me the key that's on the dresser."

"Sure," Talon said as he grabbed the key and tossed it to his brother.

Jaden uncuffed Jacen and then removed the IV. "You've been under sedation, so take it easy until your body adjusts."

"Okay." He sat in an upright position, which immediately caused his vision to swim.

Jaden reached out and steadied him. "You're going to feel a little lethargic and your thinking might not be clear for a while."

"Alright," Jacen said weakly as he gazed around the room. His mother was sitting in a chair next to his bed. Her hair was uncharacteristically disheveled and her tear-streaked face was filled with anxiety. His father stood behind her, his hands resting on her shoulders and not looking much better. There were worry lines around his eyes and he appeared much older than the last time Jacen had seen him. He turned to his sister Jaina and then his cousin Talon—both looked edgy and upset. Despite Jacen's confused state of mind he realized something very bad had happened and since he was the one lying in bed… their source of anxiety was probably him. He looked around the strange room. He wasn't in a medical clinic; it looked like a small barracks sleeping chamber. Its duracrete block walls painted in a military olive drab color reminded him of government billets. "Is somebody going to explain to me what's going on?"

Jacen's mother leaned forward from her seat and placed her hand on his. "Jacen, you were injured fighting Lumiya."

Jacen's brow furrowed. "Lumiya? The Dark Lady of the Sith? I heard stories about her as a boy. I thought she was dead." Jacen looked at his parents in astonishment. "Are you telling me I got beat up by a senior citizen?"

Leia's posture stiffened. "She's about the same age as me," she pointed out to her son. "And she may be older than you, but she was Sith."

"Sorry Mom," Jacen mumbled somewhat incoherently. "Where's she now?"

"Dead," his father answered. "You killed her."

He nodded while trying to remember the fight, but finding it impossible to recall the facts. "So what happened to me?"

"You received a blow to the head," Jaden explained. "When I talked to you earlier you appeared to be suffering from retrograde amnesia. I put you under sedation to allow you to heal. How do you feel?"

Jacen brought his hand to the right side of his head and felt a slight bump and some soreness. He looked over to Jaden and signaled for him to come closer. He whispered into his ear. "Jaden, why does my groin hurt?"

Jaden blanched. "Umm…I think Lumiya got a kick in before you killed her."

Jacen nodded. "That's probably why I killed her."

Jaden gave a nervous sounding cough. "Yeah, that might be the reason."

"Wait!" he shouted out. "I can't feel the Force! Did I lose the ability to touch the Force?"

"No, no, we're on Myrkr!" Jaden reassured him. "It's the ysalamiri. Don't worry."

Jacen let out a relieved breath. He still didn't understand why everybody was acting so strange, but then a sudden realization hit him. "You all look older…this amnesia…how pronounced is it?"

"We don't know son," Han said softly. "What is the last mission or event you remember?"

Jacen frowned in concentration. "I remember," he hesitated in thought. "I guess the last big event I remember was Anakin and I going on a Jedi Mission to the Gargon system."

Jacen's mother gasped and all in the room glanced each other with a look of shock.

"Okay…I guess from that reaction, a lot of time has passed." Jacen ventured. "How much?" He looked to his cousins, but Talon and Jaden averted their eyes. Jacen eyed his sister. "Jaina, how long?"

She closed her eyes and sighed. "Almost six years."

Jacen gazed ahead blankly. "That explains why everybody looks so different." He turned to Jaden. "I guess you completed medical school then?"

Jaden nodded. "Yes."

"Good, I thought a pre-med student was treating me." Jacen rubbed a hand over his eyes. "Jaden, will I regain my memory?"

Jaden shook his head. "We don't know."

He nodded sadly. "Six years? What happened in the last six years? That's a long time to lose." He gazed at his sister and gave her a faint smile. "You have to help me remember, Jaina."

His sister's eyes started to glisten with tears. "I will Jacen, we all will. We'll tell you what we can."

"Okay," Jacen nodded, but then looked up at his sister questioningly. "So, did you ever marry Kyp?"

"What?" Jaina looked alarmed. Jacen noticed his parents looked equally distressed.

"What does that mean?" Han asked his daughter through grinding teeth. "Kyp is almost fifteen years older than you!"

She held up her hands. "Dad, he had a crush on me. We never did anything." She glared at her brother. "Jacen where did you get the idea that Kyp and I were dating?"

Jacen shrugged as he tried to concentrate on the answer. "Well, the guy did have a holocube shrine to you in his room and all of his skin holos featured women who looked like you."

"What?!" Jaina and Leia shouted simultaneously.

"Okaaaaay," Jaden drew out the word as he placed a hand on Jacen's shoulder pushing him back down to the mattress. "I think we should wait until the sedation medication is totally out of your system before we talk." Jaden looked up to Jaina and Leia and gave them a discomfited smile. "People coming out of a drug induced unconsciousness often say things they normally would keep to themselves." He looked at the other people in the room. "I know everybody wants to talk to him, but I think he needs to rest for a while." When nobody moved Jaden made a shooing motion with his hand. "Just give him an hour or so. Please."

Reluctantly Jacen's family left the room leaving Jaden sitting next to him.

"I think I upset my sister," Jacen said. He closed his eyes and tried to focus, but he still felt a little loopy.

"Don't worry about her she's probably concerned that Kyp rumors will get back to her boyfriend."

Jacen smiled slightly. "My sister is dating somebody. Is he a Jedi?"

Jaden shook his head. "No, he's an Imperial."

"What?" Jacen gave an amused gasped. "I bet my father is thrilled at that."

"I don't know," Jaden said with a smile. "Jag seems like a nice guy."

"Jag? What kind of name is Jag?"

"It's actually Jagged Fel…he's named after Jagged Antilles. Wedge Antilles is his uncle, so the guy can't be too bad."

"As long as he makes Jaina happy." Jacen looked over to his cousin. "Jaden."

"Yes?"

"Did I marry?" Jacen swallowed a lump in his throat. "Do I have a wife and younglings yet?"

The smile slipped from Jaden's face. "No."

Jacen sighed deeply. "Oh."

Jaden put a hand on his shoulder. "You sound disappointed."

Jacen closed his eyes realizing if six years had passed since his mission to Gargon then that meant he was thirty-one years old. "I was hoping I would have found someone and settled down by now."

"Someone like Tenel Ka?" Jaden gave him a knowing smile.

He glanced over to his cousin. "Why would you say that?"

Jaden scoffed. "You only had the biggest crush on her for like…forever."

Jacen looked back up at the ceiling. "Was I that obvious?"

"I think the only person who appeared oblivious to the fact was Tenel Ka herself."

"Unfortunately, I think you're right." Jacen nodded sadly. "Is she married?"

"No, but she obviously was seeing someone…she has a daughter."

Jacen's head snapped to the left to face his cousin. "A daughter?" His voice started to waver. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "I guess she moved on."

"Hey," Jaden said softly. "Don't give up on her. I've never once heard her talk about the father or seen the man. I don't think he's in the picture. She's probably available…if you can finally build up the courage to ask her out that is…and if you don't mind a ready-made family."

"I would take her in any capacity," Jacen sighed sadly.

Jaden gave Jacen's shoulder a squeeze. "You'll find somebody."

Jacen gave him a weak smile. "How about you? I don't see a ring on your finger."

Jaden looked over to the door and leaned in to whisper to Jacen. "Don't tell anybody, but I have been dating somebody for a while…but, it's a secret, so don't be offended that I don't tell you her name."

Jacen frowned. "Secret relationships are never good."

"Why do you say that?"

He shook his head. "I don't know, but for some reason I think that." He looked over to Jaden. "Why is it a secret?"

Jaden laughed. "I don't think my father would approve of the relationship."

Jacen cocked an eyebrow up. "Is she of a species not reproductively compatible with humans?"

"It has nothing to do with reproduction." Jaden cracked up laughing. "No, her dad is not socially compatible with my father."

"Oh." Jacen wanted to ask more, but he suddenly thought of his brother. "How about Anakin? Does he and Tahiri have a half dozen children by now?"

"No." Jaden shook his head. "He has two with one on the way."

Jacen smiled broadly. "Good…I'm glad my mother has the brood of grandchildren she always wanted." He exhaled a long breath. "At least somebody is carrying on the Solo line."

.

"He's married," Luke muttered as he leaned against the 'fresher wall. "And Allana is his daughter."

The blood drained away from Mark's face. "What do we do?"

Luke closed his eyes tightly. He didn't like the idea of keeping this information from Leia and Han, but if Jacen didn't tell them there must be a good reason. "I'll request a meeting with Tenel Ka. She's the person who needs to make these decisions."

Mark gave a slow nod. "What do we tell her?"

Luke knew what he meant. Should they tell her about his association with Lumiya and the attack on Mara, Mark and Jaden? "Personally, I would rather tell her the cover story, but as his wife and mother of his child…she needs know the truth.

"I agree." He blew out an anxious breath. "She is going to be furious with me…with us."

Luke was fairly sure that was an understatement. He extended a hand out to Mark. He took it and Luke helped him to his feet. "We'll worry about that later. Let's make sure the procedure was successful and then we'll go back to Coruscant and try to sort things out." Luke gazed at Mark for a moment, scrutinizing his face. "Is there anything else bothering you?"

Mark didn't say anything for a long moment. "No," he said slowly.

"Did you see something else that disturbed you? Mark, we agreed that we would forgive things he done to us. If he did other crimes he needs to face justice. Is there something you saw, something you remember that you need to tell me?"

"No! There's nothing I need to tell you." Mark said forcefully. "And it doesn't matter what I remember, what is important is what Jacen remembers. Leia and Han have their son back. We have our nephew back. He has a second chance. What we need to concentrate on is repairing the damage we caused his family."

Luke stared at Mark intently before he gave a gesture of defeat. "Okay," Luke said softly. He was sure Mark was hiding something, but he also knew there was no cajoling a secret out of the man. A twinge of irritation flowed through Luke. The only other Jedi he had this much trouble with was his son Ben. Maybe it was something genetic. "Let's start damage control. "

.