"You realize I'm Nightwalker bait." Marek sighed. Andara was going to have his hide for this stunt.

"She doesn't run our guild. I do." Adrea answered.

"She's still my wife and she runs the Inner Council. Which is devoted to keeping us safe after the last time. How safe have we kept Gabora, if we let Dark Jedi in?" Marek retorted.

Adrea just shrugged. "We'll see."

Luke looked around, this place seemed vaguely familiar but he couldn't remember why. The people that had been in the plaza when they arrived had quickly gone indoors, but they weren't far away, just out of sight. The Force surrounded this place; it swirled around all of them, like a gentle breeze. He's never felt anything quite like it before.

His attention was drawn back to the group by a sharp poke to the small of his back. A woman emerged from one of the doorways carved into the wall they were facing. She had golden blond hair and was wearing a cadet blue full-length skirt, a cream colored linen blouse and a vest the same color as her skirt. Her hair was loose and fell to her shoulders, curling slightly.

"What are they doing here?" She demanded, stopping before the group, but looking over at Marek and Adrea.

"Forgiveness, Master Healer. It was my fault. They gave me no choice in the matter." Marek replied, his head bowed.

The woman turned to the group. "What was so important that you gave Senior Watcher Marek no choice?"

Leia frowned as she noticed the title. Marek had been here before; he had some place in their society. Just how long had he been a spy against the New Republic anyway? "We're official ambassadors for the New Republic." She told the other woman.

"So? Republic law, new or old, has no place here. We are not a part of it, and we have no desire to become a part of it."

Before anyone could reply a young girl, about Anakin's age raced out of the wall and toward Lieutenant Marek. "Daddy!" The girl yelled as she launched herself at the man.

Marek caught the girl and swung her up onto his hip. "There's my trouble maker. Where's the rest of the Terrible Trio?"

"They're too scared to come out. Momma said I couldn't but she's taking forever." The little girl looked over at the group next to her father. "Who's them?" She asked, leaning out of her father's arms to look down at the three kids.

"They're people that your daddy brought here. They're Je'i, Lessa." The golden haired woman told the dark haired girl. "And not to be trusted."

"Oh. Why?"

Marek headed off the confrontation. "Did the Bards teach you the story of the ancient ones? Of Lord Jared?"

Lessa nodded her head. "He was killed by the bad man, Kulkulcan. He was making people into evil things, like Nightwalkers."

"And then what happened?" Marek asked, as much for the benefit of the Skywalkers, as to help his daughter understand.

"The Council made the bad men leave, and never return." She said solemnly.

Marek nodded, "And what did we call the bad men when the Council kicked them out?"

Lessa frowned, but a young voice called from the doorway. "Je'i!"

Luke shared a look with Mara and Leia. This could only end badly, he felt. They had already forced a pilot to take them to a forbidden planet, and now they found out that Jedi were not welcome.

"Now wait just a minute. You're telling me that all Jedi, or Je'i or whatever you call them are evil? My kids are evil?" Han blustered.

Andara glanced at the man. "Not necessarily, but the Je'i have caused us nothing but grief. We have welcome Je'i into our homes before and never have any good come of it."

"But you're Jedi aren't you? You feel the Force right?" Anakin piped up.

"We feel the Force but we are not Je'i." Marek replied, trying to at least cushion the blow to this family. He still wasn't pleased that they blackmailed him into taking them, but now here, they would be in very real danger.

"Take them to quarters. Sita, take the Dark Je'i to Containment, until the Council decides what to do with her."

The blond woman guard moved to separate Mara from the rest of the group. Luke placed himself in front of his wife. "She's not a Dark Jedi. She's not a Sith."

The blond woman turned on him, her hazel eyes boring into his own. "No? She who worked with a Sith Master her entire life, who trained under him, fought for him, killed for him? She is not evil?"

Luke shook his head. "No, she did was she thought was right. She was serving, giving selflessly for him. That's not of the Dark Side."

Marek watched the argument with interest. It was often debated on Gabora whether or not the Dark Side, during the invasion, had tainted some of their own. His wife, Andara, Master Healer and Red Leader felt that evil, even if done for someone else, was still evil. Everyone had to live with his or her actions, good or evil.

"So she is not responsible for the countless lives she took? The planets she destroyed?"

Marek stepped forward. "Andara." He whispered, going to her. "Now is not the time for this."

Andara took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "You would let her just run around our planet? After what she did to your family, to mine?"

Marek shook his head. "No, but understand Je'i Skywalker fears for his wife, just as I would if our positions were reversed."

Leia watched the exchange with interest. Things were getting more and more interesting as they went on. Not only did Marek have a position within society; he knew the apparent leader of the community, if not the planet. And he had a child about Anakin's age. She wondered exactly how much this forbidden planet knew about her family, but the way they were talking it sounded like they knew quite a bit.

Andara nodded, accepting things from a clearer head. "If you wish, Skywalker, you may join your wife, but she will go to Containment. We will not have her corrupting us with her Dark Side ways."

"I'll show you Dark Side ways," Mara muttered as she started forward. To her surprise, the guard, Sita, grabbed her arm and shook her head.

"I would not do that if I were you. I don't wish to have to kill you."

Mara shocked, stopped and stared. "I'm hard to kill."

The woman shrugged. "I'm sure you are. This way."  

Back