Subject: [OTL]: (alt. Betsy/Star Wars) Fanged Butterfly 2: Knightcross 41/? (R) From: Phil Hartman Date: Thu, 24 Apr 2008 04:35:22 +0000 will1@earthling.net Fanged Butterfly Vol. 2: Knightcross Chapter 41 by Phil Hartman DISCLAIMER: Marvel's are Marvel's. LFL's are LFL's. Any original characters are mine. The rest belong to their owners/creators. No money is being made off of this. Please don't sue. WARNING: Themes, imagery, some violence. ----------------------------------------------------- 40 ABY: Bast Castle, Vjun, Outer Rim Territories, Galactic East, 26 Days after the Battle of Corellia: ----------------------------------------------------- That ... arrogant FOOL. Vergere looked around the ruins of the Vongtech that had been the investment Jacen had made in the struggle against Krayt, and she cursed. He had UNSHAPED the Shaped Ones, healing them, restoring their full humanity, yes, but also eliminating them as an army against Krayt and the rest of his Sith. Twelve years, WASTED. It was almost enough to make her fling lightning around. The Fosh found Jacen by the mammoth dovin basal gravity controller in the castle basement; for whatever reason, the overgrown warp gateway device was intact, not rotting like the rest of the Vongtech. But what ... unsettled Vergere was Jacen's Force aura ... He turned, and she realized: HIS EYES ... were yellow orange. "Foolish. Yes, IF I failed to take advantage of my knowledge. I know where I lost the battle," Caedus said, grinning. Vergere felt a Force choke at her throat, and Caedus continued, "I bided my time, lurking in the shadows of my mind, after that coccoon business. Jacen and I ... we've always been one. l KNOW where the historical pivot point is now ... all I have to do is flowwalk and warn my younger self." "NO ... risk, to past ..." Vergere croaked. "And what of the risk to the FUTURE!? I can't leave the galaxy to the JEDI?! OR those scum on Korriban," Caedus spat. He became almost mournful as he added, "And Hapes ... Tenel Ka grieves still. All those lives. And Ben's suffering ... "There was once a Twi'lek Sith master who said love was more terrible than anger, because it led to mercy. But what if love proves to be a path to the dark side, also ...?" Vergere couldn't break the Force choke; her concentration was fraying, with her consciousness. But as Caedus sent his message back in time and across space, she did manage one desperate cry in the Force. Then one last crack heralded the end, and Vergere knew she was right. Her species DID have a very vulnerable neck. ----------------------------------------------------- GAG Flagship Ganner Rhysode, Hydian Way, approaching Bandomeer: one day before the Battle of Corellia: ----------------------------------------------------- Jacen stood, allowing himself some vanity as he looked at his naked body in a mirror. Despite the hideous mid-torso scar where Vergere had implanted that slave seed during Jacen's time in bondage, he'd aged pretty well ... still in shape thanks to lightsaber workouts and more mundane exercises, dark hair defying attempts to keep it tamed. A little chaos in the order kept the shrillest paranoids from grabbing blasters, Jacen reminded himself. And then he noticed a reflection that hadn't been there before ... with the familiar sensation of flowwalking ... Himself, not that much older. Wearing a robe. With yellow-orange eyes. /A warning: Tell Ben about Vjun NOW. The Embrace is NOT the way. Shape him, and don't be afraid for ... you know who. Ben will understand, will accept, gladly,/ the older ... Jacen ... sent, and Jacen-the-present gasped. It was an insane risk; but if Ben had accepted Allana as a virtual sibling ... /Once Ben is in here, close the trap quickly. Mara snuck aboard; she is cloaked. And beware Lumiya. There are dissident Sith on Korriban; she is using you. Also, DESTROY all resonance ordinance. Hapes will die unless you do so. You can still win. Just show Ben the True Way, and let him come to the dark side in his time,/ Older Jacen sent, fading ... becoming their Shaped self ... and Jacen-the-present nodded, as the vision ended. It was perfect. Ben didn't have to suffer, Jacen could save Tace MUCH sooner than he'd planned ... and it could be done quickly. Even by pleasing Niathal ... "Computer: voicecom to Bridge," Jacen ordered, and the droid brain in his desk complied. "Colonel?" Captain Kral Nevil asked, as Jacen smiled. "Captain, take us out of hyperspace. I need a secure channel to High Command, and I need you to listen in in your office," Jacen ordered, and the Ganner came to a halt as the Quarren complied. "As you commanded, sir. Admiral Niathal is on the line," Nevil said after a few moments. Ben's curious and concerned Force call brought an anxious smile to Jacen's face, and he sent, /Can we talk in a few minutes?/ /Sure! Thanks,/ Ben sent, eager and trusting ... Jacen rejoiced, then heard, "Colonel. I hope your trip isn't hitting any more unforeseen snags." "Actually, Admiral, I believe I owe you an apology. You're right; this crew could use a real shakedown cruise. And Captain Nevil could do without my peering over his shoulder. He's a capable commander, who should be allowed to season the new recruits in a less stressful manner than a potential war zone," Jacen said, smiling at Cha Niathal's gravelly voice. "... thank you, sir. You're very kind," Nevil said, as Jacen smiled again. "As much as I agree with your estimation of the captain, Colonel, I assume this is more than a social call?" Niathal grumbled; she'd taken the bait. The sheer awfulness of the pun almost made Jacen giggle, but he just grinned and said, "I've become aware of a low risk, high reward target the gunnery crews could use for target practice. And it's far enough out that the travel time would allow the Ganner's crew a true shakedown cruise." "Intriguing. Your suggestion?" Niathal asked, wary but nibbling the hook ... Jacen said, "A perennial thorn in the galaxy's side. BDZing it would go a long way to patching up our relations with the Jedi, while sending a message to our enemies ... "KORRIBAN MUST *DIE.*" Nevil gasped; Niathal snorted; and Jacen winced at his melodrama. But all he could do was play the line ... "Korriban. EXCELLENT choice, Colonel. Captain, do you believe your crew ready for such a task?" Niathal asked, and Jacen fought back a wicked laugh. He'd landed the fish. "If they aren't, ma'am, they will be by the time we reach Korriban. Thank you for the suggestion, Colonel ... but what about you?" Nevil asked. Jacen prepared his figurative fish scaling knives, sweetening the peace overture ... "I'm afraid Lieutenant Skywalker suffered a nasty shock on that last raid a few nights ago. The Jedi are upset about such a young boy taking part in our work, so I'd like to take him away for a while, help smooth out some of the ripples from recent events," Jacen suggested. He knew Niathal and Omas would be grateful for better press and fewer karkups with their relations with the Council. And with Korriban reduced to glass ... The thought of an army of Shaped Ones bringing Coronet to heel, while the World Brain forced Coruscant to bow, brought an avaricious grin to Jacen's lips. "Very thoughtful, Colonel. And where can we reach you should things require your presence?" Niathal asked, sounding as if she wouldn't be making that call too soon. Jacen almost heard the sizzle of a fish fry. "Just a secure commcall away, Admiral. It might mean I'll be away for some time, but I trust Captains Shevu and Girdun can manage without the lieutenant and I," Jacen said, imagining the taste of Mon Cal moonfish with iegene sauce ... "They'll miss the REBJ, but relying on their own skills will strengthen the Guard. Take what time you need," Niathal said, and Jacen grinned again. "My thanks, ma'am. Solo out. Captain, a couple things before you begin preparations for the Korriban mission; first, have Security do a THOROUGH check of the shuttle I landed on Dathomir in. I have concerns about unexpected passengers, especially Force cloaked infiltrators. Second, please hold at this position pending a departure within the hour from my private hangar. Once that is done, proceed to your new destination," Jacen ordered, as he planned ahead and Nevil signed off. This was going to take finesse; Ben was Force sensitive, smart and his cousin. But the boy wanted to trust him. And Jacen wanted to trust Ben. Why couldn't Sith have families, have something GOOD and right in their lives? [Very nice,] he heard, turning without shame or patience as the Force rippled ... An illusion of Lumiya, his Sith mentor - #An anachronism,# he thought, now that he had his apprentice - flickered into being, creating an illusion of her asteroid cave near Bimmiel. As if she'd sensed his thoughts, Lumiya smiled - or seemed to, underneath the triangular headdress which masked her scarred face and her gray-red hair. Only her eyes were visible, left exposed by her headdress. The cyborg's body appeared much as it had during her more overt attacks on Luke following Endor - sheathed in a metallic bodysuit, her lethal lightwhip hanging at her side. There was no need for disguises now. "I heard about Dathomir. Messy, that - HNE is calling it an Alliance victory, but you managed to alienate Hapes, Mandalore, the Jedi AND your parents," Lumiya said. #Schutta,# Jacen thought with contempt; had she REALLY thought to betray him? "I survived - and for all I know, YOU were the one who sent those Corellians after me," Jacen said evenly. "And if it was a test? As you say, you survived. Ben Skywalker is yours. If I must be removed from the board, I'm not adverse to it. Neither am I suicidal," Lumiya replied. "Then make yourself useful and divert attention. I have an apprentice to start turning," Jacen said dismissively. Lumiya bowed in a mocking fashion, the Force clearing of her presence, and Jacen swept the room with a burst of darkside energy - her Force "perfume" was an affront. #Touchy, aren't we?# he reflected. Jacen admired himself in a mirror, then ran a hand over his mess of dark hair as he ducked into the shower. Hair. Not something he'd miss once ... Heh. Lumiya would blow a circuit. The Vong in Jacen grinned approvingly. --------------------------------------------------------- The doorbell to Ben's quarters rang, and he called, "Open." He managed a smile as Jori Lekauf appeared, beaming, and said, "We're having lunch soon - want to join us?" "Yeah! Just lemme clean up - Dathomir's one big poodoo pit. The locals are kinda OK, except for the Nightsisters - I've got stories to tell you!" Ben gushed as he removed his vest and shorts and stepped into the refresher in his GAG boxers. He sounded so young to himself. He was glad he still could be accepted, could FEEL young after ... #Stop it. Dad and Mom - even Jacen - told you you weren't a monster. Be a kid a little longer,# Ben reassured himself. Ben closed the refresher door partway so he could hear Jori, then slipped off his boxers and started the shower. "I helped rescue the Queen of Hapes, and her daughter! And we fought a killer Ewok!" he called, stepping under the water - a real shower was a luxury aboard a starship, most were sonics. "An EWOK!? Not Tarfang!" Jori laughed - Ben's eyes widened as he washed, at least his hair didn't take long to do, even with the braid. #Jori knows about Tarfang?# Ben thought - he finished getting the stink off, then got out and dried off, wrapping a towel around his waist - check in the mirror, nope, no whiskers, shavit. He stuck his head out the door - Jori was being awful quiet, and the Force felt thick - Jacen was standing in the doorway between his room and Ben's, wearing just a towel himself. Jori saluted Jacen, respect and a little ... hero worship? ... coming off of the corporal. Ben kind of felt the same way, even after Vel's death. Jacen was just ... magnetic. And Ben had known him for longer than Jori, but he wasn't jealous. Ben stepped forward and saluted, asking, "Sir?" - not Jacen in front of the troops, it made Ben sound like a kid. Like he was getting special treatment. Then Jacen smiled, that "lead from the front" smile he got at pre-raid briefings, and he felt ... OK, again. "Sorry to interrupt - Lekauf, I didn't thank you for getting us off of Dathomir. I'm grateful, really," Jacen said, returning Jori's salute. "Thank you, sir. Care to join us for lunch? I invited Lieutenant Skywalker," Jori offered - more for form; officers weren't supposed to eat with the enlisted men, but Ben was an exception since he was so young. And Jacen occasionally ate with the troops to demonstrate - "fraternity," he called it. "I really appreciate it, Lekauf, but unfortunately Lieutenant Skywalker and I have to talk. And ... we'll be leaving soon, on a deep cover mission," Jacen said, his tone of voice a little ... scary. But after Ben had run off the night before - after that last awful raid - he didn't want to disappoint Jacen again. /You didn't. It's OK, really - and I'd let you hang out with Lekauf, but we DO have a mission,/ Jacen sent. /O-OK, Jasa,/ Ben sent back - maybe it was OK to use the old nickname... ? Affection and protectiveness flickered across the bond, and Ben fought back tears - Jacen really trusted him. "Jori - Corporal - later?" Ben asked, and Jori returned his salute with a look that Ben knew meant Lekauf would be there for him. "Later, Loot - Colonel. And sir ... permission to speak freely?" Jori asked. "Given, Lekauf, especially from you," Jacen said. "Sir ... you look ... pale. Are you sure you're getting enough sleep?" Lekauf worried. Jacen smiled and said, "I'm fine, Jori. But thanks. Ben and I are just about to take some time off. When we return, everything will change. For the better." Ben felt a little worried; time off? But it was Jacen. He wouldn't hurt him. Not on purpose. Lekauf saluted, and Jacen returned it, before the corporal left. After the door to the hallway slid shut, Ben looked at Jacen, who said cautiously, "I need to ask you to trust me. Come in ... and don't bother getting dressed." "OK ..." Ben said, worrying about how serious Jacen was, not that they were both wearing just towels. They'd seen each other zillions of times while changing, and Jasa had never been creepy. Ben followed Jacen into his bedroom, and Jacen glared at the door; it slammed shut, but Jacen gave Ben a wink and said, "Have to practice my telekinesis. Have a seat, OK?" Jacen sat cross-legged on a mat, and Ben complied, echoing his mentor. Then, Jacen became grim, and continued, "I have to tell you some things." This sounded like the first time Ben joined the GAG - but he was worried this time. He knew their work was deadly serious, now. Before, he'd thought it was another Jedi adventure. Jacen took a deep breath and said, "First, I have to apologize. For ... Force, where do I start? For the mindrub, for making you listen to Vel's interrogation, for dragging you to see those bodies ..." "You've been trying to teach me to be stronger. Vel was bad, but ... I ran out on you. I'm sorry, Jasa," Ben said, trying not to cry. "Don't be! Ben, I was a karkhead. You're a great apprentice ... a great cousin ... and I hurt you. No more secrets, no more shavit. I ... what I have to tell you is going to be ... I just don't want to scare you," Jasa said, and Ben tried to smile. He could feel how much Jasa needed him, and Ben said, "I promise, whatever it is, I'll listen. I want to help." Jacen teared up, but smiled and said, "Thanks. I ... after the Vong War, when I was learning more about the Force ... "I was also learning more about how my time with the World Brain changed me. Made me ... understand more about the Vong ... and I felt like I was ... part Vong and part human. "There were others, hurt by the Vong, and I took what I learned from the World Brain and Zonama Sekot and learned to heal people ... but it's easier to show than tell. Just ... don't be afraid, please?" Ben could only nod; he WAS scared, but Jasa wasn't feeling like he was going to hurt him. He felt more ... OK, like whatever he had to show Ben was a weight that Jasa was about to set down. Jacen stood, turned his back to Ben ... and started to CHANGE. His stubble along his jawline, and his scalp hair, fell off. ALL of Jacen's hair fell out, everywhere. Jacen's hands grew claws; his feet grew bonespurs at the back, talons at the front. And he grew at LEAST a foot taller. Zekk, some crazy part of Ben's mind thought, would look Jawa sized. Then Jasa turned and dropped his towel, revealing a ... pouch of flesh over his groin, and Ben gulped. But, the boy realized, standing, Jasa felt the same in the Force, and Ben tried to smile reassuringly as Jacen waited for a reaction. "... WOW. You remind me of the holos of the Slayers," Ben blurted, wincing; he didn't want to hurt Jasa ... His cousin smiled a little and said, "There's a lot of similarities. The claws, the healing factor ... but the Slayers couldn't do THIS." Ben gasped when Jacen touched the wall, and his skin became the color of the durasteel. "Astral! But ... you hid this because people are still scared of the Vong," Ben realized, as Jacen reappeared. "Their fear is understandable. I'm sorry I hid this," Jacen tried to explain, but Ben smiled. "Like Allana ... you didn't mistrust me. I was just a kid, with a big mouth. You're trusting me now, and I really ... thanks," Ben said, meaning it. For Jasa to take this big a risk ... Jacen teared up, relief and thankfulness pouring from him, but he swallowed as he said, "Thank YOU. But what I have to ask next ... it's big. REALLY big." Ben suddenly knew EXACTLY why Jacen had asked Ben not to get dressed, and the boy shuddered. "You want to ... shape ... me?" Ben whispered. "Your unique blending of Force sensitive and Vong DNA would have a purpose. I NEED you ... to do things which ... even my techniques can't manage alone," Jacen admitted, as Ben's eyes widened. "So, I'm ... this isn't just about me ...?" Ben asked, fear dying on his lips as he realized how selfish his reaction sounded. "I'm sorry, that was mean... " "No. It's a fair question. But you'd be saving a life. You're not some lab veermok. You're like my brother, Ben. I'll understand if you walk away," Jasa said. Ben blushed, then asked, "That ... pouch ..." "A recycling organ, to allow for field operations without taking time for excretion. It's gene-coded to the subject's DNA, preventing rejection. It ... can retract, allowing ..." Jacen explained, trailing off as he and Ben laughed nervously. "OK. Just checking. If ... I do this, could you change me back, if I wanted, once you get what you need?" Ben asked. He didn't want to abandon Jasa, but ... maybe he could just change for a while. And Jasa was giving him a choice. That meant everything. "If you want, yes. But I would never use you and throw you away. I can inject you with a fast acting genetic virus and shape you with the Force, but if we do that, I'll be unable to block your pain receptors. Or, we can leave, and change you there, but the genetic shift would take a week," Jacen explained. Ben thought for a moment, and asked, "If you need my DNA changed, then the sooner the better for ... whoever." Jasa's smile warmed Ben, but his cousin shivered and added, "You're a great cousin ... a great brother. I ... just don't want to lie to you." Ben smiled weakly, but said, "You're trusting me. I really, really appreciate that. I trust you, too." Jacen almost sobbed, and Ben returned his hug, before they stood apart and Jacen wiped his eyes. "You're amazing. OK ... here we go. This'll hurt, badly, but this way is a LOT faster, and once you're done, I'll be able to stop the pain," Jacen said, as Ben dropped his towel and kicked it away. If he was going to ... change, he shouldn't be embarrassed, Ben figured, and Jacen grinned at him. /That's the spirit. Here we go .../ Jacen sent, as Ben opened to him fully in the Force and closed his eyes. Still, Ben shoved his fear aside; Jasa needed him, and Ben wanted to trust - Two jabs, like grabbing a power conduit, hit Ben on either side of his neck, and he felt something ... SEEP ... into him ... and THEN the pain swept over him, as he tried not to scream - but Jacen supported him, and Ben was grateful ... The feeling swept over Ben's body, as he felt his hair fall out, and THINGS grew or sprouted from him ... /Almost there - you're doing great. Most who go this route are bawling by now ... THERE,/ Jasa sent, and Ben opened his eyes ... He looked down at his naked body, seeing his ... groin pouch, and feeling the claws on his hands before feeling his hairless body and almost bald head; his Padawan braid was gone. Jacen nodded, looking ... well, almost identical, Jacen a taller, adult version of Ben, with abs the boy envied. Only Ben's dusting of red fuzz along his scalp, and Jacen's considerable height and muscle difference, separated them. It felt ... not bad, and Ben smiled gratefully as Jasa squeezed his shoulder gently; then the pain was gone. "You're OK? I left you some cranial hair, until you get used to the ... smoothness," Jacen said, and Ben blushed - then gasped, amazed, when his WHOLE body turned about six shades of red. "The ... chameleon cloak? Jasa, this is so ASTRAL! I just ... I might still be a little ... weirded out, for a while. Is that OK?" Ben asked as Jacen nodded. "Take however long you need. I know it's a lot to process, but you're -" Jasa said, his happiness making Ben feel better - and then a purple lightsaber blade carved the door between their quarters apart, and Ben gasped as his mom BLASTED into the Force, REALLY mad and scared. Worse, when she saw him and Jacen, her face went white, and Mom wheezed - she NEVER wheezed: "... BEN ... !?" "Mara, I can explain this -" Jacen said, but before he or Ben could speak, Mom was SCREAMING, crying, and charging - and halfway across the room, a pit opened, and Mom vanished in a cloud of steam. "NO -" Ben cried, while Jacen yelled something to the com. The steam cleared ... and a slab of carbonite hung in mid-air, suspended by repulsors. Ben's mom hung there, eternally frozen until someone released her, her hands thrown up in defiance, her mouth open in a silent scream behind black ice. Ben walked to her, tears rolling down his face, and he picked up her lightsaber, before he turned to Jacen and asked, "Why ... she didn't let you explain ..." "The Vong hurt her horribly. I can't say her reaction surprises me. Seeing her son, shaped ... I'm sorry, Ben," Jacen said, and Ben sobbed as he touched Mom's cheek. "I ... if she didn't listen before ... and I can't shift like you can! If we thaw her ... she might ... but she's my MOM, Jasa. We can't leave her, not like this," Ben sniffed, as Jasa hugged him. "We won't. I can set the controls to autothaw her; but we can't stay. Like you said, you'd be a little harder to sort out. Security is on the way with a medteam, so she won't be alone ..." Jacen said, opening a previously hidden door and leading Ben down a service tunnel to a small hangar. Ben tried not to gasp at the Vong coralskipper sitting there, and stopped. If he'd been shaped ... HE was part Vong, now, too, he realized. And he LIKED it. A LOT. ----------------------------------------------------------- Ben gaped as Jacen opened the skip, then waved the boy inside. "A little bigger than the fighter model. There's a bed in back if you want to rest ..." Jacen said, but Ben sat beside him and shook his head while the hatch closed. "Jasa ... I need something before we go. I ... I want to trust you, but ... Mom ..." Ben pleaded ... What did Ben need? Reassurance? An answer. "What happened with Mara ... you are part Vong, now. But you might not miss being pure human, soon," Jacen admitted, as Ben's eyes widened while they launched. Then the boy realized they were flying WITHOUT Jacen using a cognition hood, and he breathed, "Lubed ..." "Thought you might be impressed. It's just one of the things you'll be able to do now that your genetic shift should be complete. There's a shearer beast back in the hau polyp bed - you can lose that red fuzz for the last time. You'll be hairless from now on," Jacen said, flying them past the Ganner. Ben smiled, blushing a little as he said, "I ... kind of like the whole ..." "Hairless and naked thing? It has its moments. We're a step beyond, Ben. I ... you were asking before, for a reason to trust me," Jacen said, his conspiratorial grin becoming a troubled look. He looked at Ben and said, utterly sincerely, "I know what I did was horribly painful. And I scared your mom. But you've seen that I changed myself first. I'm sorry for ... everything ... " "But you didn't want to hurt her. And you helped me, like you promised. I ... feel WHOLE, for the first time," Ben exclaimed, and Jacen shared his grin as their Force bond deepened. Then something else nudged Jacen through the Force - an echo, a probe. He couldn't ignore the demand on his attention and his empathy - he had often enough in the past, but now was a time for honesty. But, as he comforted, he asked for a little more time - for patience, and courage. It always hurt him how eagerly the distant presence answered ... and Ben's brows rose (not eyebrows; those were almost gone, and he didn't miss them). "What was ... ?" Ben asked, confused but wanting to understand. Jacen didn't like keeping things from Ben, especially not now. But his own pain and wounded sincerity ACHED in the Force, and he could see that Ben could recognize those emotions. That made it a little better. "You'll find out when we reach our new home. I'm sorry about all the secrecy, but I SWEAR, that ... I wanted you to find this out for yourself, first hand," Jacen promised. "This is what you need my new DNA for, isn't it?" Ben asked, as Jacen looked at him... and trust and understanding lit up in his eyes. "Yes," Jacen admitted, fully expecting Ben to put the pieces together. Ben thought hard, grinding through the mystery, and said, "My DNA ... if it's Vong/Skywalker DNA you needed, but not for Allana ... and you couldn't use yours ... you needed male DNA ..." And he BEAMED, a burst of light in the Force, not at all angry, and Jacen smiled back, fighting back tears and saying, "I had to hide him ... the Hapans would've ..." "It's OK! Jasa, I'm not angry! This is so ... but are we too late? Is he ... " Ben asked, his face falling until Jacen reached over and gently squeezed Ben's left hand. "Just sickly. And small for his age, but he's nowhere near terminal. And thanks to you, he won't be. Thank you for understanding ... go ahead, reach out," Jacen encouraged, touched by Ben's acceptance ... and Tace'n Djo Solo, Jacen's son, laughed and greeted his cousin through the Force, as the older boy grinned, amazed. The contact couldn't last long; Tace's condition tired him, and Ben let him go with a wordless promise, as Tace hugged them both and quieted. Ben looked both elated and worried, but said, "... I always wanted a little brother, if that's OK?" Jacen smiled and said, "You'd be a great big brother. But I won't steal you from Luke and Mara. If, after we get where we're going and you stay a while, if you want to leave ..." "I want to try it ... I can call Dad after we get there, check on Mom ... so, how long've you been ..." Ben replied, his eagerness warming Jacen. "Working on this next step? Almost since we retook Coruscant," Jacen said, grinning as Ben looked surprised. "Some things I learned from Betsy gave me the idea." "You've done something to help all the people who the Yuuzhan Vong enslaved," Ben exclaimed. Jacen nodded as they entered darkspace, the Vong hyperspace variant. "Only in the willing, Ben. You'll learn more very soon," Jacen said, calming Ben a bit, not that Jacen MINDED Ben's excitement. He'd really missed his cousin, his little brother, his ... son. The idea didn't make Jacen feel so guilty. Ben and Tace had connected, and once Ben spent some time among the others ... "What'll you do now that you're not ... ?" Ben asked. "Colonel Solo? Who said I can't be him? You could learn to shift, too. I can teach you a lot, if you want," Jacen offered, and Ben nodded eagerly. "I feel ... better. The pain's gone, I'm not embarrassed ... can I stay with you? I mean, after I help you?" Ben said, looking ... hopeful, as he headed to the skip's aft. "As long as you want. You always have a place with me," Jacen promised over his shoulder as Ben beamed at him. The membrane to the sleeping quarters closed, and Jacen grinned in triumph. Everything was going not just according to plan, but Ben had joined him WILLINGLY, without resentment. He was so ... wonderful. Not just now that he was Shaped, in body AND in mind, but that he was still willing to forgive. Lumiya, Jacen decided, was a heretic schutta, even if she'd been useful. The Rule of Two might NOT have to apply ... but first, his sons needed him. ----------------------------------------------------- Once the Ganner Rhysode dumped its trash, the pilot of a certain Lambda class shuttle deactivated its landing claw and floated away with the rest of the "garbage." Betsy knew she was mad, following the temporal whisper, but ... A Vong ship leaving a GA Star Destroyer for Vjun was a HUGE coincidence, with what she'd heard ... Vergere ... whisper. And Mara was ... suppressed, in the Force. Betsy feared that Jacen was already off the ship ... maybe even with Ben. Betsy followed the skip ... as a Y-Wing followed HER. And Tarfang planned what to do with his fortune ... ----------------------------------------------------- Ben stretched out on the hau polyp bed, kind of surprised that it was so soft, as the bioluminescent lambent organisms in the walls dimmed. Something with a lot of legs and a mouth full of fine teeth scuttled onto Ben's head, nibbling away the last of his hair without biting his scalp. The shearer beast, Ben knew. It felt right; part of him CRAVED being hairless and naked and sheathed and ... shaped. He still cried, holding onto his mom's lightsaber. He felt like he'd betrayed her, hurt her ... but she hadn't even let Ben explain, and that hurt HIM. #She was just scared,# Ben tried to convince himself. But if Mom - MOM - had freaked out by seeing Ben shaped ... Ben sobbed harder. He couldn't believe that, after Dathomir, after his parents had come and supported him, that they would hurt him. Ben knew he had to try and help Tace, Jasa's son, Ben's little cousin. Almost a little brother. The shearer beast scuttled off of Ben's head, and he ran a hand over his now-shaved scalp. He matched Jacen's hairlessness. And if they were both shaped ... Maybe Ben belonged with Jasa, now. Mara's lightsaber rolled from Ben's hand as he fell asleep. ----------------------------------------------------- tbc ...