Hyperspace

Mark watched as the pinpoint light of the stars suddenly stretched and streaked past the viewport as they made the jump into hyperspace. Deke did some final checks of the readouts before he turned in the pilot seat and gave Mark a frosty little smile. "You should have killed him. He's a loose end."

Mark shook his head. "He doesn't remember making the virus or seeing Jacen."

"Yeah, but how long do those memory rubs last?"

Mark shrugged. "I don't know, years maybe. I assume if an investigation is ordered it will be soon and not ten years down the line. Jacen's safe."

Deke's eyes narrowed fractionally and there was the telltale twitch of his lips that Mark often saw when his friend was irritated. "It's not just Jacen we're protecting. I have the Queen's interests in mind."

Mark scowled at his friend. "He was an unarmed old man."

"Yeah, he's an unarmed old man who happens to make genocidal nanoviruses," Deke's voice was dripping with sarcasm. "Mark, we're not talking about a innocent bystander that was at the wrong place at the wrong time and saw something he shouldn't."

"I'm not like you Deke," Mark said heatedly. "I can't kill people who've surrendered. I can't be the "take no prisoners" type of person you are."

Deke made a face. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Mark glared at him. "During my debrief about the Vong conflict I was told it was your battalion that went in to kill the survivors…not just the warriors, but women, children…everybody."

"What?" Deke scoffed. "Who told you that?"

"It was part of my debrief. I was told it came from the top."

Deke laughed sardonically. "You mean Borsk Fey'lya ordered your debrief." He shook his head in astonishment. "Mark we took prisoners. Anybody who was willing to surrender was taken alive. There was a whole mess of aliens called 'The Shamed One' enslaved on the ships. They were more than willing to surrender."

Mark looked at Deke puzzled. "If that's true, where are they?"

He shrugged. "That was never officially revealed, but I have buddies in Intel and there's a rumor that Fey'lya gave them a habitable world in the Maw to live."

Mark was still confused. "Why was I told a lie? Luke was also given the same story."

Deke thought about it for a moment. "I don't know for sure, but I can venture a guess." Deke turned to Mark and his lips twisted into a sarcastic smirk. "First of all, one". Deke held up his thumb to show the count. "Borsk Fey'lya's military encountered and defeated an alien race of warriors who are immune to the Force." He raised another finger. "Two, Borsk Fey'lya doesn't like the Jedi. Three, he tells the Jedi all the aliens are dead. And four he hides away a Force-resistant potential Jedi-killing army of aliens in the Maw." Deke gave an amused snort. "Guess what Ol' Borsky is up to? Come on, guess." He poked Mark's shoulder with his hand like an irritating younger brother. "Bet you can't guess."

Mark slapped his hand away. "Knock it off." He looked at Deke intently. "Do you think he plans on attacking the Jedi?"

"Nah," Deke said with a shake of his head. "I doubt it…at least not now. I think it is a secret reserve he has stashed away in case the Jedi become a problem to him."

"Why didn't you tell me is before?" Mark's voice was tinged with annoyance.

"Until now, I thought you knew." Deke gave Mark a steady gaze. "That is one tidbit of information you might want to share with Skywalker."

Mark nodded. "I definitely will."

"What are you going to tell the Grand Master about the plague?"

Mark's shoulders slumped as he let out a dramatic sigh. "Nothing."

Deke cocked an eyebrow in surprise. "You are going to keep everything a secret?"

Mark started to stroke his beard nervously showing his discomfort with his decision. "Yes, nothing good can come out of telling him."

"Good, because I really doubt Skywalker would sit on this information." Deke stared at him curiously. "But...I thought you are supposed to put the Jedi above everything?"

Mark spent a moment considering his reply. "We are…and that has been a problem for me since Luke made that proclamation. My family comes first. It's always had." He paused in thought as his expression saddened. "It may be time for me to leave the Order. If what we did today is ever revealed, it would be better if I wasn't a Jedi."

Deke's eyebrows rose in surprise. "You're quitting?" He gave a low whistle. "You must really like your nephew to go that far for him."

"I do like him. He's not a bad person…just confused and under a lot of pressure. Besides we're family. And no, I'm not quitting. I'm retiring. I put almost three decades into serving the Jedi and my two sons are Jedi. I think I've given enough to the Order." He turned to Deke and made a gesture of resignation. "Besides, I want to spend more time with Kira…maybe travel the Galaxy."

"You've been all over the Galaxy," Deke pointed out. "Join the Void Jumpers, travel to exotic worlds, meet interesting people…and kill them."

Mark smiled sourly. "That's the point. I was usually in the armpit of the planet being shot at. I would like to go to the beach or mountains and not have to worry about finding a LZ and popping smoke." He looked over to Deke. "What are you going to tell the Queen?"

Deke shifted in the pilot's chair uncomfortably. "I'm going to tell her we did an investigation and there is no physical evidence showing Jacen's involvement in the plague."

"No longer any physical evidence," Mark pointed out.

Deke shrugged. "I need to reassure her and at the same time give her plausible deniability. Anyway, if she really wanted to know the truth she can do one of those Jedi spook brain probes on me."

Mark laughed. "Did she probe you a lot?"

Deke gave an amused chuckle. "Never…at least I don't think so." He grinned wildly. "Unless she did it at night while I slept. You just can't trust women around a good-looking guy like me." He laughed as he gestured his two thumbs to his chest.

"Gods, you have a high opinion of yourself." Mark scoffed. He then paused in thought as he looked out at the hyperspace lines racing past the ship. "So… I guess it's settled. Jacen Solo was not involved in the Hapan plague."

"But he killed the person who did carry out the attack," Deke added.

Mark nodded. "Sounds good to me."