Beyond - Legends Breathless (J/TK) Updated 03/30

I'm trying to step out of my comfort zone and write about characters and timeframes that I haven't tackled before.

Jacen is one of my favorite characters.

Hence, this 'fic.

The story most definitely is major AU. Nothing in the NJO happens, though I might occasionally borrow a character or two from that era.

Jacen's 24. Tenel Ka's 24.

Here is a brief summary: Jacen Solo doesn't want to be a Jedi anymore. Tenel Ka Djo never wanted to be the Queen Mother of Hapes. Fate (some would say, the Force) brings them together and Jacen and Tenel Ka dare to hope -- hope for freedom, hope for love, and hope for a future together.

Genre: Alternately humor and drama.

So, without further ado....

*~*~*~*

You send people on mission after mission after mission and then wonder why they donâ??t want to be a Jedi anymore.

Jacen Solo carefully kept his thoughts masked as he walked down the hallway to the debriefing room. He felt slightly ashamed for having such thoughts, but he couldnâ??t help it. They had sent him on thirteen missions in three years without a single breather in between. He hadnâ??t seen his parents in more than five years, and hadnâ??t seen his twin sister and younger brother in nearly as long. He was sick and tired of being a Jedi.

He had just returned from his last mission, in which he had been shot at, stabbed, poisoned, choked, strangled, and otherwise generally mutilated. Jacen wouldnâ??t have minded all that so much if only his torturers had been anybody but Hutts. Really.

Since his body had healed to somewhat-normal physical functionality during the hyperspace travel back to Yavin, Jacen supposed that that made him fair game for yet another mission.

He had briefly toyed with the idea of not reporting back to Yavin but heading straight to Coruscant and now wished that he hadnâ??t been so trusting of the Jedi Councilâ??s innate sense of humanity.

Iâ??m not going on another mission. Nothing short of an ungodly miracle will get me to accept another mission before I have a break.

The door to the briefing room opened as he neared it. The only occupent of the room, his aunt, Mara Jade Skywalker, was busy wrestling her one-year-old son Ben onto the bed.

Jacen smiled slightlyâ??his first smile in a long, long timeâ??when Ben threw his milk bottle at Mara, who ducked out of the way just in time. Unfortunately, the cap of the milk bottle had come loose in the melee somewhere and the bottle quite literally exploded on the floor, showering both Mara and little Ben in blue milk.

â??BEN!â?? Mara sighed, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand, which didnâ??t help at all.

â??Umm. Bad time?â?? Jacen said, his grin spreading.

â??Whaâ??oh, hi, Jacen. Give me a couple of seconds.â??

She disappeared into an accompanying room with Ben. When she came back, fifteen minutes later, her and Benâ??s appearances were mostly repaired.

By this time, Jacen had seated himself in the only spare chair that hadnâ??t gotten drenched in blue milk, and had been about to doze off when the noise of the refresher door opening woke him up.

â??How did the mission go?â?? Mara asked.

â??Do you have another mission for me?â?? Jacen asked, ignoring her.

Well, of course she does. Why else would she call me here in the middle of the night? Jacen sighed. That planet strife with civil war and those twelve million people dying of incurable diseases have other Jedi to save them. My parents have but two sons.

Jacen felt worse all over again for being so unsympathetic toward the plight of so many millions of people, but stillâ?¦

Mara hesitated. â??Yes, but itâ??s aâ?¦â?? She sighed. â??You have to understand, Jacen, that weâ??re stretched really thinâ?¦â??

â??Iâ??m not going on a mission,â?? Jacen said firmly. â??Iâ??m sorry, Aunt Mara, but Iâ??ve done more thanâ??â??

â??You sure you want to make the decision before you even know what the mission is?â??

â??Yes,â?? said Jacen. â??Iâ??m NOT taking an

 

I like. I wanna see where this goes. Enforced marriages? Jedi forced to have a family or butt out? Or just a quasi-productive way to take a break? Either way I don't think Jacen's gonna gripe too much. PM me when you post.

 

I definitely someone changing his mind about taking a mission! This looks great, and I can't wait to read more. Nice visual with Ben throwing the bottle. Seems like one of those things that we got to miss in the NJO.

Please come over and hang out with us at the Crystal Reef Palace Auditorium! We love having new victi...er...new authors come and join us!

~Carr

 

This is getting interesting. Looking good.

 

Nice start. Please continue.

I like the touch of humor.

 

More Please!

Now!

PLLLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I can not get enough of Jacen...throw TK in and I'm a very happy camper!

 

Oy! Readers!

ZebulaNebula: Not enforced marriage. I have a 'fic that already deals with that one (no, it doesn't star Jacen). The problem is much less interesting: The New Jedi Order finds its numbers dwindling fast as the Jedi head off into other professions; i.e., Jaina becoming a pilot, Tenel Ka becoming a queen, etc. And the Jedi want them back.

Of course, this will get explained in the next post.

CarrKicksDoor: Yeah, no kidding. Otherwise, there wouldn't be a story now, would there? I'll see about joining the CRPA!

DathomiranAuthor: Thanks!

MistiWhitesun: Thanks!

pregnantpadme: Thanks!

Depa Billaba

 

Oh, how wonderfl! I think I can guess what Mara's going to say!! More soon please!!

 

This looks interesting. Seeing Jacen driven to the point where he's just talking, not listening, and having Mara ignore it, is something I haven't seen.

I'll keep an eye on this one.

Good work.

 

Like Jacen says, what about TK?

 

AvenKiel: Thanks! What do you think Mara's going to say?

theatrejock: There's a reason - and I'll tell you soon, though, as some reader remarked a couple of years ago, soon is NOT a word in my vocabulary.

SilSolo: You'll find out. In the post after the next.

Depa

 

The vooprak looked like it was in heaven. It steadily munched through its late dinner. Jacen smiled as he watched the vooprak gave a loud belch in its tiny, squeaky tone and went straight back to sleep.

Jacen had cajoled the young girl living in the room next to him to feed his pets while he was gone, but Kiera didn?t care for pets and couldn?t have paid much attention to what food she gave them. The vooprak liked to eat bugs, the slimier the better.

He watched the vooprak through its glass cage for a couple more minutes before the grumbling of his stomach become too ear-splitting to ignore any more. He got to his feet reluctantly and searched around in the tiny kitchenette for something halfway passable to eat. Most of the stuff in the cooler was three years old. Quite a few of them had the most horrendous smell coming from them. They efficiently destroyed whatever appetite Jacen had.

He checked his wrist-chrono. Oh-one hundred hours. He tried to think what he could expect in the mess hall at the moment. Then, deciding he didn?t give a damn, he walked out of his room and headed toward the mess hall, thankful that the hallways were deserted.

The mess hall was similarly deserted; there were, perhaps, all of ten people in here and none of them were human. Jacen served himself a little bit of everything there and sat at a table as far away from the rest of the occupants of mess hall as possible.

He pulled out his comlink and punched in the appropriate numbers.

The call got picked up after only one ring.

?Solo here.?

Jacen had just put a spoonful of something black, bitter, and nasty in his mouth. He choked?and swallowed in a hurry.

?Anakin,? he said, surprised. ?What are you doing there??

?Jacen!? Anakin?s voice became a great deal bouncier. He hesitated. ?Sorry. I thought you were somebody else.?

?The Jedi Council?? Jacen asked knowledgeably. ?The great Kyp Durron? Or perhaps Corran Horn? Or wait, maybe Aunt Mara. Oh no, I know??

?The Jedi Council?s not exactly one of Uncle Luke?s better ideas, is it?? Anakin asked wryly. ?I kept telling Uncle Luke that it?s a bad idea. Nothing ever gets decided in a committee.?

?And what they do decide turns out to be invariably wrong.?

?Exactly!? Anakin sighed. ?The Order?s in a perpetual state of senseless melee. And the Council?s just making things worse.? Anakin sighed again. ?I think maybe Uncle Luke?s just tired of leading all the bickering Jedi.?

?Nah. Uncle Luke?s just tired of being part of the administration. Too many meetings.?

Anakin laughed. ?That?s true. I should talk to him?I haven?t talked to him in a long time??

?Me neither. And no, he?s not at Yavin. I don?t think he?s come back from his latest spate of missions yet.?

Pause. ?Did you ask Aunt Mara when he expects to come back??

?No.?

Pause?as though he were debating whether to prolong this vein of conversation. He apparently decided otherwise, because he changed the subject abruptly. ?Anyway, why did you call??

?Just thought I?d talk to Mom and Dad,? said Jacen, swallowing another spoonful of whatever it was that he was eating. How could anybody eat this stuff?

?They aren?t here,? said Anakin. ?They got a mission.?

?What mission?? Jacen asked, surprised.

Mother had pretty much retired from the government. Though she continued being part of politics and the government unofficially?this was Mother, after all?she was mostly concentrating on honing her Jedi talents these days.

?Well, Mom got the mission,? Anakin explained. ?I don?t know much about it?though?I and Tahiri came here just a couple of days ago?and, as far as I understand it, Dad?s gotten tired of Coruscant and informed that senator woman or whoever that Mom isn?t going anywhere if he isn?t allowed to go with her. So, yeah.?

?Huh.?

?What about you?? asked Anakin. ?Did you finally get a break? Are you coming to Coruscant? I and Tahiri are going to this lunge ball tournament on Corellia, and I got five extra tickets??

?Can?t come, Anakin,? Jacen sa

 

Ha! I'm not going to indulge you with a speculation!

?Well, maybe a teeny one?

I'm thinking that the woman in the dream is what TK'll become w/o Jacen, or that she's some new threat to TK, or that Jacen's brain is coming up with some weird event so he's convinced that he has to go after TK.

Whatever. I'll see, soon enough.

Keep writing!

 

Interesting. I like this. Keep it up. Who were those people? Was that lady the Dark Jedi? And who the kriff was that boy?

 

Amazing. I love how you wrote the vision.

Wow. This is getting very interesting. Must...read...more......

And thanks for ignoring the njo; it's nice to see Anakin alive!

-DA

 

so unfair...Jacen and TK kissed and...almost...but didn't....

and I didn't get to see it

so unfair...



wait a minute...Anakin is alive...this is AU...

Does that mean TK isn't the Queen Mother?

WooHoo!!!

 

Morning everyone!

I'll have a post up presently.

MistiWhitesun: You know, funnily enough, that was exactly what I was thinking when I first wrote the post (three months ago). The post hasn't changed but the scene did.

ZebulaNebula: Yeah, who are those people?

DathomiranAuthor: Thanks! You're welcome. I like Anakin, too, though I didn't like him all that much during the NJO. (Come to think of it, I went to hating most people in most books of the NJO.)

pregnantpadme: well, they'll get plenty of chances to kiss each other...though whether they will kiss each other is another question entirely.

Tenel Ka makes an appearance in the next post.

Depa

 

Since college is going to be starting soon, my posts will be up early in the morning rather than late in the night.

*~*~*~*~*

Jacen sweated profusely while he waited for an audience with Tenel Ka. He found it ironic that the atmosphere had to be so stuffy in Hapes, considering that the planet?s only sun was so weak and far away. But Hapes was dominated by oceans, and that meant an atmosphere that made you feel as if there were mud plastered to your body. Around the clock.

Jacen had been to Hapes only once before, and that was almost a decade ago. When they were sixteen, they had constructed their very first lightsabers. Tenel Ka hadn?t thought that the warrior rather than the weapon mattered. In the ensuing mock-duel between her and Jacen, she had lost her arm and had been whisked off to Hapes. Her life as a Jedi would probably have ended, had Jacen and his friends, along with Uncle Luke, not gone back to rescue her from the clutches of her grandmother.

Almost ten years had passed since then. But Jacen?s situation didn?t seem to have improved very much. Here he was, once again trying to get Tenel Ka back to Yavin.

He looked over at the magnificent oak doors that separated the audience hall from the room that he was in. Tenel Ka was in there, listening to the furious complaints of this farmer whose fields have been turned into graveyards by the products released by that company. Jacen could hear the farmer shouting at the top of his lungs despite the closed doors.

Tenel Ka had come back to her homeworld to rule as the Queen Mother of one of the most powerful clusters in the known galaxy. She didn?t like it, much preferring the warrior methods of her maternal family to the political drudgery of her paternal family. She had been hoping, as had Jacen, that Tenenial Djo and Isolder would have more children, children who either weren?t Force-sensitive or liked settling the political bickering that so often commenced in the Hapan palace, so that Tenel Ka was free to peruse her dreams.

But when Tenenial and Isolder had died in a freakish accident that had left Tenel Ka the only heir to the throne?

Jacen sighed deeply.

The Jedi Order was more than a profession: it was a lifestyle. It instilled in you a deep sense of justice and compassion. And Tenel Ka had let those two feelings guide her decision. Instead of handing the throne over to her blood-thirsty cousins, she had given up her dreams and her life for her people.

If only those people would recognize her sacrifice?

Jacen sighed again.

Now, the Jedi Order founds its numbers dwindling fast as more and more people chose to do other things over being a Jedi. Jaina had become a pilot. Anakin occasionally did the Jedi bidding but preferred to spend time with his wife, Tahiri, repairing what everybody assured him was irreparable stuff. Raynar had gone to help his parents with their highly-profitable and quickly-expanding company. Lowbacca had joined the Wookiees from Kashyyyk in a fight to end slavery of his people in the Outer Rim Territories. Zekk was making his fame as a bounty hunter. Gavin Darklighter was off pod racing.

The Council wanted the Jedi back. There were too many apprentices and too few masters. They decided that they would start with getting Tenel Ka back. After all, it was easier to convince themselves that they were doing her a favor?which they were, but that wasn?t the point?by pulling her out of the Hapan politics, which could and usually did get quite bloody. Besides, it wasn?t as if they would have any success trying to get Jaina to resign her post at the Twin Suns squadron or convince Lowbacca that it was more important to be a Jedi than to fight for the freedom of his people.

Jacen pinched his forehead.

He felt that things wouldn?t be so dire if only Uncle Luke were in charge. But Uncle Luke was busy playing the puppet in the hands of the New Republic. Civil war here. Luke, will you please go and end it? We need those duranium mines to ensure freedom and happiness to all our members. Pirating there. L

 

Hmmmm...I like this. Keep it up. Please make J and TK kiss.

Great work
Myra

 

I like it. And Gavin's Force-sensitive, huh? Cool. And please have them kiss.

 

Wow, I'd missed a post. Nice curveball you're throwing us with Dagobah in there.

Gavin + the Force = teh cool.

I like how glad TK was to see Jacen, and how the guards were all scowling and stuff. It's beautiful.

~Carr

 

'breathless'ly waiting for the next post...

 

I like Anakin, too, though I didn't like him all that much during the NJO. (Come to think of it, I went to hating most people in most books of the NJO.)

I know. *tear* The njo characters aren't the same. I gave up on it.

I think the characters work better in here w/o the njo.

I like this fic so far. Characterization is looking good. Great job!

I have to agree with the others. Jacen and Tenel Ka should kiss.

MTFBWY
-DA

 

Oy! New reader!

Mirax_Corran: Thanks!

ZebulaNebula: Only slightly, but yes, he is Force-sensitive.

CarrKicksDoor: Thanks!

pregnantpadme: LOL!

DathomiranAuthor: Thanks!

Jacen and Tenel Ka. Will they kiss? Will they do more? Will they do something??? We'll find out...sometime in the near future.

Depa

 

?So, what happened to the farmer??

Jacen glanced over at Tenel Ka. She had dispensed with the heavy scarlet robes and the many-layered gown that she had been wearing when she entered his room half a standard hour ago. Gone, too, was the intricate headdress that kept her hair, which had been woven around in a complicated chignon, in place. She was now dressed in a dark-green jumper suit much like the ones worn by the New Republic pilots, except that this had a softer, cottonish look to it. She had let her red hair down, and it was down near her waist.

It had been a shock to him when he realized how much her hair had grown in the years since he had last seen her?back then, it had just barely skimmed her shoulders. Tenel Ka insisted that she hated long hair, but it was a necessary part of being the Queen Mother. Jacen didn?t understand that, but he didn?t press the issue, not wanting the conversation to get lost in the lecture about long hair and its symbolism.

?He went away angry,? said Tenel Ka.

?How come??

?The company drills for meroic-oil,? Tenel Ka explained. ?It had been at Mildra for far longer than the farmer and it is following all the laws and regulations to the letter. Even if it had not been doing that, I?m afraid there is nothing much I can do about it. It has a contract with the government, which will not expire until the end of the decade.? Tenel Ka thought for a moment and then shrugged. ?Grandmother thinks I should have ruled in the farmer?s favor.?

Jacen knew that couldn?t have been because Ta?a Chume had any overriding interest in the welfare of her people.

?I take it your ruling didn?t play out very well in the eyes of the people.?

?It did not,? Tenel Ka said. ?It did NOT help that the farmer?s wife is a person of great social influence.? She shrugged again. ?But enough about me, Jacen. How has your life been??

Jacen thought about telling her about the state of the Jedi Order. He thought about telling her about how their once close-knitted group was now broken because nobody had the time to talk to each other anymore. He thought about telling her about the New Republic, the Senate, and their increasingly outrageous activities. He thought about drawing the fine parallels between the New Republic and the Old Republic before its end?and there were many parallels.

He thought about telling her why he was here.

He thought about telling her how much he had missed her.

?Not too bad,? said Jacen. ?How about you??

?Bad,? said Tenel Ka matter-of-factly.

Jacen frowned at her in concern. ?How bad??

?Terrible,? said Tenel Ka. ?But there is nothing you or I could do about it. I am Mother and Father?s only daughter and therefore it is my responsibility to see to the well-being of my people. How are your parents doing??

The anguish he felt from her through the Force, despite her shields, told him that she hadn?t gotten over her parents? deaths yet. He tried thinking about how he would feel if his parents died, and then realized that he couldn?t even stand thinking about the possibility.

?They?re doing all right,? said Jacen.

?I heard they are both retired,? said Tenel Ka.

?Ha!? said Jacen. ?If you mean they?re volunteering their work now instead of getting paid, then yes, they are retired. Mother?s still active in the government, but now that she has no official standing, nobody pays attention to her anymore. You know, the standard we understand where you?re coming from and we?ll deal with it, but you have to understand that we have so many important things to do??

?Ahh, yes.?

?Bet you wish you can say that and get away with it, don?t you?? Jacen joked.

?Yes.? Tenel Ka looked at him. ?I wish I can say that and get away with it.?

*~*~*~*~*

Shortie, this one; but the next one is longer and more interesting.

Depa