Coruscant [Galaxy Far, Far Away]

[momslilassassin]

Ben knew from the moment he stopped hiding in the Force that his mom was going to have some words for him, so he took a deep breath, perched himself on the white marble pedestal of an abstract statue of Prosperity that formed a support for the civilian arrivals hall, and called Mara.

"Mom, I just landed," he said when her worried face stared back at him through the device. "I--"

"Ben, are you at the military port?"

"No, the civilian one. Galactic City. Look, I'm sorry that--"

"Stay right where you are. Don't move, okay? I'll meet you at Arrivals 7-B, okay?"

"Mom--"

"No arguing this time," she said, and disconnected the transmission.

Ben sighed. This was going to go well.

A short time later, he caught her red hair out of the corner of his eye as she raced over to him. "Hi, Mom," he said, bracing himself for the worst. "You're mad at me, right?"

She gave him a long look, then ruffled his hair. He was grateful. People he worked with at the GAG were patrolling around them. His reputation would have been shot if they caught him being hugged by his mommy, "You couldn't call us?" she asked. "You couldn't even tell Jacen where you were?"

He frowned. Jacen had known where he was. "I'm sorry," he said instead. "I was on a mission and I didn't want to give away my location."

"We can talk about it later," Mara said. "It's okay. Your dad will be happy to see you back safe. No yelling, I promise." As they threaded their way through the crowd, Ben noticed that his mother was being especially alert, even for her.

"What are you frightened of, Mom?" he asked.

She didn't take her eyes off of the crowds around them. Not that he'd expected her to--she'd been trained too well. "Okay, you might as well know. Lumiya is trying to kill you."

A Dark Lady of the Sith. Fantastic. Ben grunted, but wasn't all that alarmed. "Because she's still got this vendetta with Dad?"

"Mainly because you killed her daughter."

Ben blinked. "Uh...okay, I'll take her word for it." He was fourteen and had already killed enough people not to know which one might have been a Sith's daughter. That should probably worry him.

Mara turned to look at him closely. "I mean it, Ben. She's dangerous and she's subtle, so until we neutralize her, you have to be on your guard. She's got connections within the GAG. It could be anyone."

Ben shrugged it off. "If she was going to have this spy of hers in the Guard kill me, she'd have done it by now. But I'll be careful." He ran a hand through his hair, yanking at his Padawan braid. "This is getting messy. What with Jacen on Fett's list for killing his daughter, and me killing Lumiya's..." He trailed off for a moment. "I suppose that's what the job's about, isn't it? You collect enemies."

His mother looked at him a little sadly. "About that. Your father and I have something to discuss with you."

It was a silent ride back to the apartment where Luke was waiting for them. As the door opened, Luke put down the shoto he'd been working with--Ben realized his father must be serious about taking out Lumiya if he was working with her preferred weapon--and rushed over to crush Ben in a hug.

Ben submitted to the gesture, but didn't really return it. "I'm glad you're safe," Luke said. "But if anything I did made you go off like that, we need to talk about it."

Ben looked at Mara. Their family wasn't exactly known for talking about it. "I was working. I was on a mission, that's all."

Luke's lips thinned, but he knew better than to ask who'd sent him. Only one person could order Ben. "Comlink silence?" he asked instead.

Ben nodded. "Yes, Dad. Sorry. I can't discuss it. You understand, don't you?"

"Of course I do, son," Luke replied. "I really hoped you weren't going to stay in the GAG."

"I'm good at that kind of work," Ben said.

"I know," Luke replied, something Ben didn't understand flickering in his father's eyes.

"I can't ever be a good little academy Jedi now, Dad," he continued. "I have to see this through. We've had this argument before, haven't we?" His voice turned regretful. "There's a war going on, and once you've served, you know you can't walk away from it and sit it out while your...while your friends risk their lives."

Luke and Mara exchanged glances. "I understand, Ben," Luke said. "I do. But the GAG isn't the place you should be."

"It's not?" Ben felt his heart pounding.

"We've found a school," Mara said. "It's a bit...out of the way...but I think you'll learn a lot while you're there."

"You're sending me away?" Ben didn't mean to get that screechy. "If you think the GAG is bad, then good people should stay in it and change it from the inside, not abandon it to the bad guys!"

"There's also Lumiya to consider," Luke replied firmly.

"You wanted me to be a Jedi," Ben said. "I'm being a Jedi. And now you're going to shove me aside like you did when I was an infant in the last war."

"That's not--"

"Whatever," Ben said, cutting off his father and turning away. "Where am I going?"

"A place called Fandom," Mara replied. "It's an island on a planet named Earth."

"I've never heard of it." Ben knew he was being far too whiny. He didn't care.

"It's not exactly in this galaxy," Luke replied, "but I've been assured they understand working with Jedi. The person I spoke with seemed almost amused by the question."

"It's in another galaxy?!" He was being exiled. Jacen was going to be so pissed. "Jacen is going to be upset," he said.

"We'll deal with Jacen," Luke said, and there was an underlying steel in his voice that Ben wasn't used to hearing. Why was he the only one who understood what Jacen was trying to accomplish? A galaxy at peace was worth a few sacrifices, right?

"When do I leave?" he asked, trying to sound resigned and ending up a lot closer to sulky instead.

"A few hours," Mara replied. "We'll comm all the time and you can come back to visit whenever you like."

Ben rather doubted both parts. His parents were on the Jedi Council and weren't the best at keeping in touch during the best times. He nodded anyway. "I'll go pack," he said.

[OOC: Some dialogue taken from Sacrifice by Karen Traviss]