Mara couldn't believe what she had heard from Ben. Yes, she knew that Jacen had changed, but her kindhearted nephew becoming a Sith? Of course, she'd never known anyone who became a Sith after she met them, so she wouldn't know what they were like.

And more importantly, Mara absolutely trusted Ben and knew he had been spending a lot of time with his cousin Jacen in recent months. Mara thought that Jacen was simply mentoring and training Ben.

Looking back on it, though, she shouldn't have been so naïve.

"I'm glad you told me, Ben," said Mara, trying to stay as calm as she could in front of her son. "And I don't want you going back to Jacen after this."

"No problem, mom," said Ben. "He's starting to scare me."

"And he should – I mean, anyone who's been using the Dark Side should," replied Mara, suddenly hoping that nobody in the diner was listening in. "I would have thought Jacen would have learned that lesson, but even I've noticed he hasn't been the same since Vergere tortured him."

After Ben left, she started to plan how she was going to find Jacen without him sensing that she was coming. It would take all her Force-shielding and searching skills, but what else had she learned from Palpatine? It didn't matter how powerful Jacen had become, she'd find him soon enough.

And it didn't matter how many years it had been since her assassin's training. It wasn't something that she had forgotten about. And Jacen was about to learn that firsthand.

The more she thought about it, the more furious she became. Jacen should know better than anyone else. He should have had it drilled into him more than anyone else how dangerous the Dark Side was. He should know that nothing good could be done while under its influence if his grandfather, the Chosen One himself, couldn't do it.

And Mara was not about to let another Sith ruin the Galaxy if she could help it. She'd learned and matured entirely too much to help another Sith rise to power—no matter how convincing it seemed.

And this time it was personal – he'd tried to make Ben his apprentice. He had tried to turn her innocent teenage son. Yes, what she was about to do could destroy the family she'd found after so many years on her own.

But Jacen had started it. Someone had to stop him, and why not her? She had the training and the will to save the Galaxy.

She's always been more than protective enough of Ben to save him at any cost. Jacen wouldn't even see her coming.