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Topic:
Revelation(Sequel to Serenity and Devotion); Jaina/Jag; Completed 8/3
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Handmaiden_Rabe
Registered:
Nov '03
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Date Posted:
7/26/04 11:36am
Subject:
RE: Revelation(Sequel to Serenity and Devotion); Jaina/Jag; Updated 2/26
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(urgently) UP!
Cattie
-----signature-----
Little Spitfire of the CJ
"I love the pitter patter of tiny feet in huge combat boots." -Mal Reynolds in War Stories
Currently reading: Redeeming Love, The Grapes of Wrath
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Handmaiden_Rabe
Registered:
Nov '03
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Date Posted:
7/27/04 12:15pm
Subject:
RE: Revelation(Sequel to Serenity and Devotion); Jaina/Jag; Updated 2/26
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(walks into thread singing) Up, up, up, higher, higher.
Cattie
-----signature-----
Little Spitfire of the CJ
"I love the pitter patter of tiny feet in huge combat boots." -Mal Reynolds in War Stories
Currently reading: Redeeming Love, The Grapes of Wrath
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Handmaiden_Rabe
Registered:
Nov '03
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Date Posted:
7/28/04 11:59am
Subject:
RE: Revelation(Sequel to Serenity and Devotion); Jaina/Jag; Updated 2/26
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UUUUUUUUUUUUPPPPPPPPPP!!!
Cattie
-----signature-----
Little Spitfire of the CJ
"I love the pitter patter of tiny feet in huge combat boots." -Mal Reynolds in War Stories
Currently reading: Redeeming Love, The Grapes of Wrath
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Jedi-Princess-Solo
Registered:
Apr '02
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Date Posted:
7/28/04 8:43pm
Subject:
Revelation(Sequel to Serenity and Devotion); Jaina/Jag; A/N 7/29
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I am so sorry about the long hiatus, guys! I've had a crazy few months... my computer crashed, my best friend is getting married (they decided to only have a 5 month engagement, so as maid-of-honor I have been at wit's end helping her plan this thing), and I am finally about to start law school now (and so I am thrust right back into the endless cycle of education  ), so it's been very hectic. On the bright side, I have several weeks of downtime before my classes start, and my schedule this fall will be much lighter, so I will be back to regular posts again starting this week  Expect the final post here sometime in the next few days, definitely by Sunday. I have a sequel focusing on the kids in the works (won't be nearly as long, lol), so I will get that first post up soon and put a link to it here. Thank you all so much for your patience!
~JPS~
-----signature-----
"Fight until you can fight no longer, then exhaust the enemy chasing you, and turn and fight some more." -Leia Solo in SbS
"Love can ignite the stars..." -RotS novelization
"Even the stars die out, Anakin Skywalker..." -RotS novelization
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Handmaiden_Rabe
Registered:
Nov '03
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Date Posted:
7/29/04 11:13am
Subject:
RE: Revelation(Sequel to Serenity and Devotion); Jaina/Jag; A/N 7/29
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YEAH! You're back. Sorry if I got a little mad, but I really like this story. And, what is the name of the sequel, 'cause since you said this was a trilogy, I didn't expect anything afterwards. Glad you're back JPS, and gladly waiting for the next post.
Cattie
-----signature-----
Little Spitfire of the CJ
"I love the pitter patter of tiny feet in huge combat boots." -Mal Reynolds in War Stories
Currently reading: Redeeming Love, The Grapes of Wrath
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jags_gurl
Registered:
May '02
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Date Posted:
7/29/04 8:37pm
Subject:
RE: Revelation(Sequel to Serenity and Devotion); Jaina/Jag; A/N 7/29
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Yaaay, post soon! I understand completely where you're coming from - Darth Life catches up to me too!I can't wait for that post, JPS! But.... I still can't believe it's almost over.... 
A sequel to the sequel of the sequel? Sounds mahhhvelous! 
-----signature-----
limiting my time on the boards to focus on the school year sooooo....lurkerextrodanaire i am....  =====@[-------------------------------- O< Squishy of TKL's Lomin Ale Wraiths >O chi omega
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Handmaiden_Rabe
Registered:
Nov '03
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Date Posted:
7/30/04 6:08pm
Subject:
RE: Revelation(Sequel to Serenity and Devotion); Jaina/Jag; A/N 7/29
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PEOPLE, SHE'S BACK! Don't you realize that? That means a post, real soon. JPS, I think you should change the title, or whatever that thing's called, to let them know you're back, and draw more attention to the story. Waiting for a post with more hope than I've had in the last few months. 
Cattie
-----signature-----
Little Spitfire of the CJ
"I love the pitter patter of tiny feet in huge combat boots." -Mal Reynolds in War Stories
Currently reading: Redeeming Love, The Grapes of Wrath
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jagsredlady
Registered:
Oct '02
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Date Posted:
8/1/04 7:08pm
Subject:
RE: Revelation(Sequel to Serenity and Devotion); Jaina/Jag; A/N 7/29
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Can't wait for the post.
A sequel, you say? Yay!
-----signature-----
Education: that which reveals to the wise, and conceals from the stupid, the vast limits of their knowledge. ~ Mark Twain
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Handmaiden_Rabe
Registered:
Nov '03
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Date Posted:
8/3/04 10:13am
Subject:
RE: Revelation(Sequel to Serenity and Devotion); Jaina/Jag; A/N 7/29
- Date Edited:
8/3/04 10:14am (1 edits total)
Edited By:
Handmaiden_Rabe
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UP! Happy 130 to me!
Cattie
-----signature-----
Little Spitfire of the CJ
"I love the pitter patter of tiny feet in huge combat boots." -Mal Reynolds in War Stories
Currently reading: Redeeming Love, The Grapes of Wrath
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Jedi-Princess-Solo
Registered:
Apr '02
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Date Posted:
8/3/04 6:32pm
Subject:
RE: Revelation(Sequel to Serenity and Devotion); Jaina/Jag; Completed 8/3
- Date Edited:
8/3/04 6:42pm (1 edits total)
Edited By:
Jedi-Princess-Solo
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Hey guys! Thanks for being so patient for this final post. I'll give you a link to the short story to come after Revelations once I get the first post done- it will probably be a week or so with all of the chaos of starting law school this month. Hope you enjoy! 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A gentle breeze wafted through the meadow, ruffling the willow grass and carrying winged akiras across the clear afternoon sky, their melodious chirping drifting over the sounds of the distant waterfalls that adorned the landscape.
There was something about Naboo, Jaina decided, that just couldn't be matched anywhere in the galaxy.
Sitting cross-legged in the grass, hovering just off the ground with the Force, her eyes closed in meditation, she felt more at peace than she had in ages. Meditation had never really been her strong point, in her youth she'd been more than a little impatient with it at times, but once she became a mother, she'd found the benefits of it unquestionable.
Now, though, after everything she'd been through at Coruscant and after, it was her favorite way to spend her free time. There was so much she hadn't understood until now, so much about the Force that she had taken for granted, that discovering the truth behind it all had given her a sense of completion the likes of which she doubted any living being could ever know.
Which, of course, was only logical, considering that she'd only gained that coveted knowledge by dying.
Back from the dead, she mused with a mirthless chuckle. Weren't those Jacen's words, all those years ago after he'd escaped Yuuzhan Vong captivity?
Only that had been a figure of speech for him, and it was nothing short of clinical fact for her.
She had made her final stand on Coruscant, facing down the towering Yuuzhan Vong warmaster Krillit Lah, and she had come out the victor, in a matter of speaking. Krillit Lah had been killed, but not before he gave her a mortal wound that would kill her, too, a last gift of irony from the Yuuzhan Vong to the Jeedai who mocked their gods by taking the mantle of Trickster goddess for her own.
Krillit Lah had done what he set out to do, kill the Pretender and prove she wasn't a goddess after all, but he hadn't lived to celebrate, and her revival, at the hands of Kyp Durron, had only made his efforts work against him.
Because now the Yuuzhan Vong truly, and completely, believed that she was of divine origin. They had seen her fall, only to rise again, like the ethereal phoenix, which she was now being equated with by some of the more religious castes.
She wasn't just Jaina Solo Fel, she was a Jedi Master, leader of the legendary Twin Suns, seconddaughter of Vader, granddaughter of the Chosen One, the Sword of the Jedi, Yun-Harla the Trickster... and now the Phoenix, as Harrar's latest message had informed her that she was being called.
Life as a deity was certainly never dull.
And yet she couldn't help the wistful longing for the old days, when things had seemed so much simpler and the galaxy had been a much less imposing place. The days before the Yuuzhan Vong, when her biggest worry had been playing the peacemaker between her brothers during one of their unavoidable arguments about the Force and what it meant to be a Jedi.
She'd been a different person then, more innocent and carefree. While she'd faced her share of problems over the years, her life hadn't yet been shattered, her family hadn't been torn asunder, the Jedi hadn't been persecuted and hunted, she hadn't watched helplessly as friends and comrades fell all around her, her spirit hadn't yet been tainted with the shadow of the dark side.
But she hadn't met Jag yet, either, nor had she had the closeness she now shared with Kyp, two men that she knew she could never even dream of living without.
Yes, the years since the Vong first showed their faces at Dubrillion and Sernpidal had been long and hard, and full of suffering, but there had been some good to come of it, hadn't there? The Imperial Remnant, the rebuilt Republic and the Chiss had come together to form the Galactic Alliance, old enemies had become friends and allies. The Jedi had gone through another era of purges, and they had come out the stronger for it. Over time the Yuuzhan Vong had been reintegrated into the Force, and their culture, built on war and conquest, had begun to change.
And she and Jag had been blessed with the most precious children they could have ever asked for.
She saw so much of her husband in both of their children, but there were bits and pieces of other relatives, too. Every once and a while, she'd catch a glimpse of her father's rogue charm or her uncle's patience, her mother's nobility or Jacen's gentle nature, but mostly it was her little brother she saw shining through in them.
It was in Padme's quiet fearlessness, in Anakin's ageless wisdom, in the way they both rushed heedlessly into danger when others were in harm's way.
They were, without a doubt, Skywalkers through and through.
Just like Ben.
And like a true Skywalker, Ben now knows the dark side intimately, Jaina thought with a sigh. No matter what Luke said, she wasn't entirely convinced that she didn't merit some portion of the blame for Ben's slip to the dark side, because she had known it was coming and she hadn't done anything to stop it.
If anything, she'd probably contributed to it in the end.
After all, she was the Master, he was her Apprentice, and she had allowed the dark side to possess her, giving in to the rage and despair she felt at Tahiri's passing, so what kind of example had she set for Ben not to do so himself?
Worse still, she had a sinking suspicion that she had actually encouraged Ben's fall, luring him deeper into the darkness once he took that first pivotal step.
A distant stirring in the Force caught her attention, a faraway presence beginning to strengthen, drawing closer. There was an echoing feel to it, as if it was rushing towards her from across a vast, immeasurable distance, and then she felt it become solid and tangible, bathing her in a sea of light and warmth that flooded from the core of her being.
"Come to lecture me on self-blame again?" she asked, without opening her eyes.
A rich chuckle filled the air around her and a voice, so familiar that it instinctively touched a chord deep within her very soul, reached her ears. "Can't a grandfather just come to spend time with his favorite granddaughter?"
"I'm your only granddaughter," Jaina pointed out wryly, looking up at the smiling face of Anakin Skywalker. "And no, not when said grandfather is a Jedi spirit who's been dead for almost forty years. What brings you down to my plane of existence, oh great Chosen One?"
"You're insufferable, do you know that?" Skywalker asked.
"Mmm, so Kyp tells me," Jaina mused, her lips pressed together in amusement. "Care to join me?"
"I was thinking we could take a walk, actually," her grandfather replied pleasantly. "It's been a long time since I was able to enjoy the scenery of Naboo."
"Well, perhaps you should have asked Palpatine to let you build one of those hideous castles of yours here instead of on Vjin," Jaina suggested sarcastically. "I'm sure he would have understood that you liked the scenery better here. I mean, who wouldn't prefer waterfalls to a toxic wasteland?"
"You're lucky I'm dead," Skywalker informed her with narrowed eyes. "Or I'd take you over my knee."
Snorting, Jaina pushed up to her feet in one quick, graceful movement, tossing her thick braid back over her slender shoulders. "I'd like to see you try," she challenged lightly.
Skywalker chuckled, shaking his head. "So like your grandmother."
"I'll take that as a compliment," Jaina retorted with a grin. "Considering that you thought she was an angel."
"That was before I got to know her," Skywalker muttered, but the light in his eyes clearly stated that he still did, and always would, think of Padme Naberrie Skywalker as nothing short of heavenly.
"It doesn't matter anyway," Jaina mused with a smirk. "Considering everyone is always saying how we're so much alike. I guess all of my vices come from you, Grandfather."
"Sure, blame it on the former Sith Lord," Skywalker sighed, shaking his head in exasperation.
Sombering, Jaina gave him a pointed look. "You know I don't think of you like that, right?" she asked. "You're my grandfather first and foremost, everything else is just an afterthought."
Skywalker gave her a decidedly affectionate glance and smiled. "I know," he assured her, and they walked along in companionable silence for a few minutes, taking in the breathtaking scenery around them and appreciating its beauty through the Force all at once.
Naboo had always held a special place in Jaina's heart, from the moment she first set foot on the planet all those years ago during the war, she had felt a connection to this place. It was hard to define, much less to explain, but she suspected that it had something to do with the history it had born witness to, of the undying love between her grandparents.
Or maybe it was just something in her blood, she was technically of Naboo descent, after all.
It would have been nice to grow up here, Jaina mused wistfully. She wouldn't have traded her years on Yavin Four for anything, the jungle moon had and always would be her home, but Coruscant had never had the same appeal. Maybe it was the Jedi in her, but a city-world, full of machinery and technology, just wasn't as comfortable as a planet covered with living, breathing nature.
"Be grateful you had Yavin Four," Skywalker told her, picking up on her train of thought. "I had to spend all of my years of training on Coruscant. What I wouldn't have given to have been able to just meditate in the middle of the jungle, or better yet to sit by a lake and watch the water..."
"Uncle Luke's the same way," Jaina commented thoughtfully. "Especially the lake part. I guess it's because you both grew up on Tatooine, with nothing but sand in all directions."
"Probably," Skywalker agreed, a peacefully content look on his face as he gazed at the birds overhead. "That's why I fell in love with Naboo, the first time I laid eyes on it. There was just something in the air, something about the way life flowed all around on this planet, the way the cities gently rise from the earth, not an obstruction of Naboo's beauty, but an addition to it."
"I know exactly what you mean," Jaina sighed contentedly, letting her eyes fall closed for a moment as they walked, appreciating the fresh air, wafting of flowers and healthy grasses, and the tingle of life surrounding her in all directions.
There truly was no place in the galaxy she would have rather been.
And, honestly, there was no other company she'd rather have at the moment.
Skywalker's lips twitched into a smile at that.
They walked along in companionable silence for several minutes, equally lost in beauty of the world around them, although Jaina didn't miss the wistful longing in her grandfather's eyes. She had always assumed that his love for Naboo was because of her grandmother, but she'd come to realize that it went much deeper than that.
And she had a feeling that it was this place he saw in the afterlife, where he and his beloved wife were given the time together that they had been denied in life.
"Does everyone see that same thing?" she asked quietly, something that had been in her thoughts for a while now, ever since things had calmed down after her return. "All Jedi, that is?"
She didn't have to explain what she meant, he understood.
"I don't know," Skywalker admitted thoughtfully, eyeing her with gentle curiosity. "Why? What did you see?"
"Light," Jaina said softly, gazing off into the distance as the memory swept over her, filling her with tranquil sense of peace. "Not any particular color, it was every color imaginable. Colors I've never even dreamed of, colors beyond mortal comprehension... all swirling together, wisps and tendrils floating around me like smoke..."
She closed her eyes for a moment, her arms wrapping around herself, and she could almost see it again... ripples, shapes, beads of light coming together around her, behind her, in front of her, beneath her... spiraling and dancing...
"And warmth," she continued breathlessly, feeling an echo of its heat inside of her chest. "Like sunning myself out on the shores of Mon Calamari in the summer... only the sun was inside of me, part of me... or I was part of the sun..."
Distantly, Jaina was aware of her grandfather's luminescent presence at her side, of her younger brother's eyes trained on her from somewhere faraway and out of sight, but for a moment the only thing she could perceive was her own brilliant star and the Force flooding through it, enveloping it.
"And there were... sounds," she whispered, though she wasn't entirely sure she was speaking with words anymore. "Like water running over rocks... a gentle river... only it wasn't water, not really. It was... voices, only not voices. A choir of... something... and it was beautiful."
Opening her eyes, she looked to her grandfather, who was watching her serenely.
"If I'd had the capacity," Jaina confided in him quietly. "I think I would have wept from the sheer beauty of it."
"You wouldn't have been the first, nor the last, I imagine," Skywalker replied.
"Was it similar for you?"
"Yes, and no," Skywalker answered with an enigmatic smile. "The emotions, the feelings were the same, maybe even the perceptions. There aren't words for what it feels like, to become one with the Force, to allow your matter to become energy, to let it flood back into the very thing that all life is born from."
"No," Jaina agreed softly, feeling a wistful tug at something deep inside of her. "There aren't words."
There weren't words for what it felt like to have it taken away, either.
"How are you coping?" Skywalker asked with concern.
Jaina shrugged, not really sure how to answer that. "I'm coping."
"But it's hard?" he finished knowingly.
"Not hard, not exactly," Jaina said, shaking her head. "More like... strange."
"How so?"
"I'm glad to be back," she began slowly, searching for the right wording. "I'm grateful to have the chance to watch my children finish growing up, to spend time with the people I love, to grow old with Jag and watch our family continue to grow outward as new generations are born... I'm glad that I'm here to witness the changes taking place in the Jedi Order, to be a part of that change and to help others find their way again..."
"But you miss it," Skywalker concluded, nodding his head.
"It's kind of like after Anakin died," Jaina mused, tilting her head to the side. "Like a small piece of me is missing. I'm happy, being here and being alive, but I don't think I'll ever be exactly like I was."
"Is that such a bad thing? Growth and change are part of life, part of the Force."
"You sound like Obi-Wan, do you know that?"
"He has an unpleasant way of rubbing off on you if you spend too much time around him."
"Hmm, I imagine the same can be said for you."
Skywalker gave her a look that was somewhere between indignation and amusement.
"It might be said for you, as well, my dear," he pointed out.
"Yes, but I'm a goddess," Jaina reminded him lightly. "One should be so lucky as to have my divine influence rub off on them."
"And I'm the Chosen One," Skywalker retorted without missing a beat. "I was conceived by the Force itself. I think that trumps a goddess."
"No way," Jaina argued, shaking her head. "Goddess tops Chosen One any day. Besides, I've got the whole Sword of the Jedi thing going on, so you're not the only one with a prophecy."
"The Sword is of the Chosen line, remember?"
"Alright," Jaina conceded that one, a smirk tugging at her lips. "But I'm also the only Jedi to ever die, become one with the Force, and come back to life. Try and beat that."
"You two have gone space-happy."
Startled, Jaina turned to see her little brother had shimmered into being behind them without her noticing, and he wasn't alone.
"I believe young Anakin is correct," Obi-Wan Kenobi said from his shoulder.
"Traitor," Skywalker muttered.
"I can't help it if you're unbalanced, Anakin."
"Yeah, well, you raised me, Obi-Wan, so what does that say about you?"
Anakin grinned, turning to his sister with raised eyebrows as they both tuned out the bickering between the two men. "How you been, Sis?"
"Tired," Jaina admitted, and her grandfather glanced back her way with concern. "I think these past few weeks have just started to catch up to me, that's all."
"You should take a few days off," Anakin suggested. "Go on a vacation or something."
"Jedi don't take vacations," Obi-Wan pointed out, a hint of amusement in his voice.
"Maybe not Old Order Jedi," Anakin retorted dismissively. "But this is a New Order, and if Jaina wants to take a vacation, then she'll take a vacation. Force knows she's earned it."
Despite herself, Jaina smiled. "I'll be fine," she assured her little brother. "I think it's just the transition."
"From the afterlife?"
"That, too," she sighed. "But I was thinking of the transition back to the light. I haven't felt this tired in... well, ever."
"It takes time," Obi-Wan said gently. "Your spirit was battered and scarred quickly, but the healing is a slow process."
"He's right, Jaina," Skywalker agreed.
"I know he's right," Jaina replied. "In some ways, I think I've been trying to heal ever since Hapes all those years ago, and I'm only just now starting to find the right path... but in other ways I feel like I've done this all before, like I should know where to put my feet for every step I take."
"Let go," Anakin advised brightly. "Trust in the Force."
"Ah, Jacen's ceaseless words of wisdom," Jaina chuckled.
"Some of the less arrogant advice he gave me over the years."
Jaina sighed, shaking her head. "He was a bit holier-than-thou in our youth, wasn't he?"
"A bit?" Anakin echoed incredulously.
"He grew out of it."
"Yeah, after I died," Anakin snorted.
"He handled it better than I did," Jaina pointed out. "At least he didn't resort to hurling Force lightning."
Anakin eyes her irritably. "You sure know how to stop someone short, don't you?"
"Learned skill," she retorted. "Side affect of being Kyp's apprentice for a short time."
"It did you some good, to train under him for a while," Skywalker commented. "It did him some good, as well."
"We not only saved each other, we saved the galaxy from one another," Jaina murmured, then sighed, shaking her head as she thought of him risking his soul for her sake yet again, by bringing her back. "That man is forever getting into trouble on my behalf."
"He loves you," Anakin said with a shrug. "Some of us happen to think that you're worth risking everything for."
Glancing over at her little brother, Jaina smiled sadly, remembering how he had done just that at Myrkr, taking an amphistaff to the spleen that would prove fatal with no time for a healing trance. For the first time in all the long years since, though, she didn't feel overwhelmed by grief at the memory.
What was simply was.
Anakin had made a choice that day, although at the time he hadn't even known it, going to her rescue had been pure instinct, as natural as breathing, he couldn't have not gone to her side, for that was the nature of siblings but he'd made a choice nonetheless.
And that choice had allowed her to fulfill her destiny, to become the Sword of the Jedi, and it had allowed Jacen to begin the path he was meant to take in order to step into their uncle's shoes when the time came.
The mission to Myrkr had set so many events into motion, it had led to the destruction of the voxyn, put Jacen into Vergere's path, rededicated the Jedi to finding a way to bring the Yuuzhan Vong back into the Force, and, indirectly, it had helped bring about the end of the war.
And Anakin had known all along, somehow.
"Like you always said," Anakin quipped with a lopsided grin. "I am the genius in the family."
Smiling, Jaina reached out and tousled his hair, despite his protests. "Keep telling yourself that, kiddo."
Grumbling under his breath about how no one ever felt like messing up Jacen's hair, Anakin began to smooth it back down, and Jaina exchanged an amused look with her grandfather and Master Kenobi. A distant ripple in the other side of the Force, the part that she could half-perceive, sounded, like a bell jingling that she couldn't quite hear, and Anakin groaned.
"Master Yoda calls," Obi-Wan commented lightly. "Best not keep him waiting."
"He's right," Skywalker agreed. "That gimmer stick really cracks your shins."
"And you would know," Obi-Wan retorted, just as the 'bell' tolled again, causing him to sigh wearily. "And there goes my summons."
They all waited rather expectantly for a moment, but it didn't sound again, and Skywalker grinned. "Guess I don't have to go," he announced, sounding quite pleased. "Have fun, kids."
Anakin shot him a dark look before fading out, and Obi-Wan followed his lead, sparing his former apprentice a glance before disappearing.
"And then there were two," Jaina said lightly.
Her grandfather looked at her with a sudden seriousness that made her really dislike dead Jedi and their ability to know everything going on with the living. "You worry for your children," he observed evenly. "Why?"
"Isn't it normal for a parent to worry?" she shot back. "Don't you worry for Mom and Uncle Luke, for me and Jacen and Ben and the kids, even though you're technically dead?"
"I'm not going to dignify that with a response," Skywalker retorted. "The worry I speak of is deeply buried, hidden in the shadows of your mind, but it has been weighing on your thoughts for days now."
Realizing that it was useless to argue with the man, Jaina sighed. "In every generation of Skywalkers, there has been one who falls," she clarified. "First you, then Uncle Luke, then me, then Ben..."
"And you fear the pattern will continue?"
"Given history," she answered with a shrug. "It seems more than likely."
"As Obi-Wan was so fond of telling me," Skywalker replied solemnly, but there was a twinkle in his blue eyes. "Nothing is set in stone except for the past. Don't spend so much time worrying about what the future holds, Jaina. The Force is strong with our family, as long as they listen, it will guide them down the right path."
"Like it did you?" she demanded.
"Ah," Skywalker murmured with a sad, regretful smile. "But it did lead me down the path I had to take, from a certain point of view."
"Yeah, I know," Jaina grunted. "You had to join Palpatine in order to get close enough to kill him."
"That, too," Skywalker agreed, tilting his head a little. "But Jaina, the prophecy said that I would bring balance to the Force, it never said anything about what that meant. The Jedi assumed that it meant I would destroy the Sith, but even that wouldn't have truly brought balance, now would it? The light side of the Force would have just tipped the scales even further."
Jaina looked at him in bewilderment, and he simply gazed back at her patiently, until slowly understanding began to dawn on her and her lips parted in horrified realization. "All of the Jedi, and all of the Sith," she whispered. "The Force needed to start over with a clean slate."
"Yes," Skywalker confirmed, nodding sadly. "A terrible price, but there it is."
Despite herself, Jaina shivered, wondering just what kind of cost fulfilling her own destiny and the prophecy of the Sword of the Jedi would take.
"Always in motion the future is," Skywalker quoted gently, the meaning of his words unspoken but clear.
Glancing up at him, Jaina smiled weakly. "Any inkling as to what we can expect from it?" she asked, only half-joking.
Her grandfather laid a steady hand on her shoulder, spreading warmth and comfort through her entire being as he looked down on her with kind, loving eyes.
"Whatever the future holds, you'll face it head-on," he said confidently.
"Not exactly helpful," Jaina muttered.
Skywalker smiled at her, cupping her cheek in one of his hands, and she couldn't help wishing that his life hadn't been claimed aboard the Death Star, because it would have been nice to have him around while she was growing up.
"And you'll always have me," he told her gently, his voice warm and full of affection. "I'm a ghost, I can pop in on you anywhere at anytime, so it's not like you'll have to face it alone."
Sighing, Jaina leaned over and hugged him tightly around the waist, pressing her cheek into the warmth of his robes.
Her grandfather didn't so much as stiffen in surprise, only held her gently for a few long moments, providing her with an anchor to which she could balance herself out again.
When she pulled back at last, she smiled up at him, not feeling the least bit rueful or embaressed, and looped her arm through his. "Still have time for that walk?" she asked.
"For you?" Skywalker retorted. "Always. How about you? No pressing engagements?"
Jaina shook her head.
"Good," her grandfather said, his face lighting up as he steered her off towards the right. "Because there's this waterfall I've been meaning to show you. Your grandmother and I used to take picnics out there when I could manage to sneak off to Naboo to visit her..."
Listening intently as her grandfather recalled tales of happier times for him and his wife and exchanging stories of her own about her children's adventures growing up here on Naboo, Jaina found that her earlier words were true.
For the first time since her resurrection on Coruscant, she was wholy and completely happy to be alive.
-----signature-----
"Fight until you can fight no longer, then exhaust the enemy chasing you, and turn and fight some more." -Leia Solo in SbS
"Love can ignite the stars..." -RotS novelization
"Even the stars die out, Anakin Skywalker..." -RotS novelization
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DarthJaina
Registered:
Aug '02
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Date Posted:
8/4/04 7:50am
Subject:
RE: Revelation(Sequel to Serenity and Devotion); Jaina/Jag; Completed 8/3
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Awesome post, JPS! Way to finish off this trilogy, with a nice bang, he he. I nearly choked, I was laughing so hard in a few places (i.e., the Goddess vs. Chosen One debate, lol!), and then in others I felt speechless (Jaina discussing the afterlife w/ her grandpa)... bravissimo, my friend! Excellent work!
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"Do you want the short answer, or do you need someone to explain it to you with charts and diagrams?" -Jag and Jaina in DJ
"You're a major now?" "I'm better than that, I'm a holovid star. Not to mention a goddess." -Jacen and Jaina in DW
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Handmaiden_Rabe
Registered:
Nov '03
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Date Posted:
8/4/04 8:33am
Subject:
RE: Revelation(Sequel to Serenity and Devotion); Jaina/Jag; Completed 8/3
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NOOOOOOOOOO! IT'S OVER. Wonderful post, JPS, but I still can't believe it's over. And how in the world did you figure out the Chosen One balancing the Force stuff? You must be one smart law student. I'm waiting for that link.
Cattie
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Little Spitfire of the CJ
"I love the pitter patter of tiny feet in huge combat boots." -Mal Reynolds in War Stories
Currently reading: Redeeming Love, The Grapes of Wrath
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Lt_Jaina_Solo
Registered:
May '02
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Date Posted:
8/4/04 9:25am
Subject:
RE: Revelation(Sequel to Serenity and Devotion); Jaina/Jag; Completed 8/3
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Aw! That was a fantastic ending, JPS! Very nicely written!
~LtJS 
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Handmaiden Irelynné, Handmaiden of the Crest
All links to stories in bio!
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Kathryn
Registered:
May '02
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Date Posted:
8/4/04 10:23am
Subject:
RE: Revelation(Sequel to Serenity and Devotion); Jaina/Jag; Completed 8/3
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Beautiful, JPS! An awesome ending to a wonderful story! I look forward to the next chapter.
-----signature-----
"What can a King ask of a man like me?"
"A better world than has ever been seen.
A kingdom of conscience. A kingdom of Heaven."
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Jedi_Jaina_Fel
Registered:
Jun '02
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Date Posted:
8/4/04 2:44pm
Subject:
RE: Revelation(Sequel to Serenity and Devotion); Jaina/Jag; Completed 8/3
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Great conclusion, JPS!
This was a beautiful post, I had been anticipating you doing a scene like this, with Jaina and Ani Skywalker, ever since she came back w/ dead people over her shoulder, lol. Nicely done!
"Yes, but I'm a goddess," Jaina reminded him lightly. "One should be so lucky as to have my divine influence rub off on them."
"And I'm the Chosen One," Skywalker retorted without missing a beat. "I was conceived by the Force itself. I think that trumps a goddess."
"No way," Jaina argued, shaking her head. "Goddess tops Chosen One any day. Besides, I've got the whole Sword of the Jedi thing going on, so you're not the only one with a prophecy."
"The Sword is of the Chosen line, remember?"
"Alright," Jaina conceded that one, a smirk tugging at her lips. "But I'm also the only Jedi to ever die, become one with the Force, and come back to life. Try and beat that."
"You two have gone space-happy."
Startled, Jaina turned to see her little brother had shimmered into being behind them without her noticing, and he wasn't alone.
"I believe young Anakin is correct," Obi-Wan Kenobi said from his shoulder.
"Traitor," Skywalker muttered.
"I can't help it if you're unbalanced, Anakin."
"Yeah, well, you raised me, Obi-Wan, so what does that say about you?"
 So true!
-----signature-----
"Pain drowns most people. I just swim in it."~Tahiri Veila in RS
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