Beyond - Legends "Journeyer and Empress" (AU, LOTF timeframe; philosophy/etc.; concluded 3/28)

I've been enjoying ths story a great deal, even if you're twisting my brain quite a bit. I love all the youngsters - it's great to see Jag & Jaina and to see Jacen as caring parents. Very curious as o what will happen next!

 

Sorry I've not updated this in a while. The time change made me

But, a little something more, this time from another perspective ...

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"Dad, catch!" Vuahlin called, tossing Anakin the ball. The youngest of Han and Leia Solo's children bounced the toy from hand to hand before passing it.

Good reflexes. But then, Jag's the only one without the Force in this little group, the once-and-former "Hero Boy" - long since a man, with a wife and family of his own - considered as he watched his kids play with their cousins. It was the first time that all five Solo grandchildren had been in one place.

Anakin sighed inwardly, trying not to let regret spoil the moment. Jasa and Jaya were talking - not that the twins had been cold to each other, but the whole "Second Confederacy" business a few years after the Vong War's end had chilled relations between the Galactic Alliance and the Remnant for some time.

Sure, nobody wants crazed Muun bankers to fund radicals looking to cast us back to the bad old days before the Pellaeon-Gavrisom Treaty. But what the Remnant did at Muunilinst ... on the other hand, they're the Empire. We got used to working with them during the Vong War - forgot how hard-edged they can be, Anakin thought.

The "Khapet al'Yun" - Idiot of the Gods, in Yuuzhan Vong, Consort of the One-Who-Was-Shaped, and co-rallier of the Shamed Ones against the Vong elite - smiled despite his train of thought. True, the Remnant had crushed resistance at Muunilinst - but it could've been far worse without Jaina as Empress.

"Excuse me ... Knight Solo?" Anakin heard a younger, female voice call - he cringed inwardly at the reminder that he was 30 - and he nodded kindly. The dark-skinned Imperial Knight who'd been watching Roan and Nyssa bowed, giving Tahiri a polite if wary glance as the blonde hid an amused smirk.

~Why, dummy, are you flirting on me with a younger woman?~ 'Ri teased, her warmth belying any implied misbehavior on Anakin's part.

Nevertheless, he radiated embarrassment over their Force-bond as he replied, ~You know I'd never betray you, 'Ri.~

~Of course, lover. But you know how the Yuuzhan Vong part of me likes discomfort ... mine, or someone else's,~ Tahiri laughed, winking as she tossed the ball to Nenri. Their blonde daughter rolled with the ball, every bit the tomboy that her mother had been as a child.

Anakin radiated unadulturated happiness - he'd never dreamed of a happy ending for himself and Tahiri, not during the darkest moments of the Vong War.

But life, and maybe the Force, have strange ways of working out, he thought, blushing as he apologized to the Imperial Knight for his inattention.

"Sorry - Knight Arelys? Just enjoying the afternoon break," Anakin said, smiling a bit. Arelys nodded, glancing at the kids - clearly checking up on Roan and Nyssa, who were taking part in the impromptu ball game - before looking at Anakin with an odd expression.

"That's quite all right ... please forgive my curiosity. Your legend's built up so much over the last decade that to meet you in person is ... an opportunity I hadn't imagined I'd have. Is it true that you trained an Ewok Padawan after the Vong War?" the Imperial Knight asked, her eyes widening.

Anakin chuckled, remembering the farewell toast he'd had with his former Jedi learner and now good friend. "Yep. Kettch is one of the Order's best Guardians. Just as good a pilot as his mythical namesake, too," he laughed, bringing a smile to Arelys' face.

She looked stunned for a moment as the reality of the statement sank in, and she asked, "... an Ewok Jedi. Then again, there are - ah, my apologies."

Anakin winked; he knew what Arelys had meant. "You mean Chak Fel's Storm Ewok project. Oh, we've met them. 'Their helmets have ears!' is a cry of panic among all sorts of Outer Rim pirates. Good drinking buddies, though," he said, grinning.

Arelys seemed flustered, but glanced at Bangor as the bantha grazed on a pile of fodder quickly rushed from the royal stables (Jaina had thought one rose bush a small price to pay for Anakin and Tahiri's visit, but the palace gardener had nearly had a heart attack at the idea of a bantha loose in the topiary).

"And ... your unique method of transport lives up to its - his - tales. 'Bangor the Hyperspace Bantha' ..." Arelys trailed off, shaking her head a little.

"SNORT," Bangor replied - in a good mood, Anakin could tell. (Bangor was like a member of the family after all these years.)

Anakin nodded, leaning against a fence - carefully, the pressor fields weren't lethal, but they weren't meant to support a full-grown adult for very long. "Shortly after Myrkr, Tahiri and I were kidnapped to some kind of ... cross-dimensional reality holovid show, run by a creature that looked like Waru in a B'omarr Monk's walker. I helped 'Ri to work through her struggle with her Yuuzhan Vong personality. Meanwhile, one of our kidnapper's employees used the Force in a strange way to give Bangor the ability to teleport. He's got limits, but they're not very many, and he can even cut across dimensions," he explained.

He didn't really think he was giving away secrets - Jaina had heard the same stories, even witnessed a few (she'd been at Myrkr, of course). Besides, while the dreaded Imperial Security Bureau no longer existed in its' malevolent Isard-cultivated form, Imperial Intelligence was still around.

They might even cultivate an agent inside the Imperial Knights, Anakin thought, less with suspicion than with pragmatism, as Arelys considered his tale.

He could still charge into a group of enemies, lightsaber blazing, but Anakin Solo had learned to be smart about it - he had a lot to live for these days.

And mysterious ultra-strong Force users who can perform emergency splenectomies in Yuuzhan Vong worldships don't come by every day, he recalled.

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Author's Note: I'm wrapping this up; I think I've muddied the waters a bit too much with what I've omitted. Apologies.

However, I'll write more soon, exploring other possibilities and updating (and clarifying ) some older works ...

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After a sumptuous meal, and the kids were tucked away in bed (Anakin and Tahiri had accepted Jaina's invitation to stay a few days), the adults sat to talk. 'Kin and 'Ri were chatting with Jag about Zonama Sekot, which left the twins to slip out to the patio and share some wine.

"So," Jaina asked Jacen as they sat and watched the stars (and occasionally passing shuttle), "How are Mom and Dad, really?"

"Doing OK. Keeping busy - they're trying to help defuse the Corellian situation. Thrackan's still as big an idiot as ever, and Wedge fled to Coronet after GAI fumbled the ball with his confinement. Don't get me wrong, Wedge needs to curb his ego - he threatened to ruin one agent's life, which is dark-side even without the Force. But he should have had the right to make sure Iella was safe from reprisals if he sided with the GA Navy," Jacen opined.

Jaina looked discomforted, but tilted her head in acceptance. "I won't deny that Antilles blood can run cold - Jag's impressed the nastier Moffs with his steel - but it's a little stereotypical. I think you just resent Corellians in general," she pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

Jacen snorted with dark amusement; he knew better than to hide his opinion from his twin. "You mean I resent Father. Not like I used to, no," he said, sighing.

Jaina gave him the all-too-familiar "explain, please" look that reminded Jacen of their mother, and she smirked as she said, "OK, I'll put on my Mom hair-buns and try my best diplomacy-without-blaster-or-lightsaber technique. I've gotten better at it as Empress, after all."

"Fair enough. I'll admit that for the longest time, I didn't connect to Dad because of his lack of Force sensitivity. It wasn't bigotry, exactly, but more my belief that he'd never be able to really accept me without understanding me. But, between confronting my own ego on Tython - and it was egocentrism, I can admit it now - and seeing Dad with Tace after I returned from my Force pilgrimage ... I badly underestimated Han Solo's compassion," Jacen admitted.

He managed a faint smile as he added, "He and Mom took in my son before I even knew I had a son. Family matters more than the Force, Jaya."

Jaina reached over with her free hand and squeezed Jacen's fingers, happiness rolling across the twin bond. "I just wish ..." she started, growing sad.

Jacen radiated gratitude - they both knew what she meant, and he loved her all the more for it. But his relationship with Tenel Ka had to stay quiet.

He held his wine glass with both hands, then, and carefully asked, "And what about you and Mom? Do you talk at all?"

"Not as much as I want to. She was right, all those years ago back on Duro - we're too much alike. We want to say what we feel, but we're both too stuck in our roles - her championing diplomacy, my preserving the best of the Empire while fighting the worst," Jaina said.

She blushed - not entirely from the wine - as she said softly, "I still think she resents me eloping with Jag. But a public wedding would've been worse - can you imagine trying to keep Mom and Wynssa from each other's throats? And after Mygeeto and Muunilinst ..."

"Hey. Hey. You're talking about Leia Organa-Solo. If anyone knows about the necessities of peacekeeping -" Jacen interjected.

Jaina's roiling feelings silenced him, as she muttered bitterly, "She's not wrong. But I can't admit that, or the Moffs will give Jag trouble."

"Or do you just not want to admit that Mom was right about something? Because I've been guilty of that where Dad's concerned," Jacen replied, gently.

Jaina rolled her eyes, drawing a sharp bark of laughter from Jacen - he could still see the "Goddess," after all this time, beneath the Empress.

"We're a pair, aren't we? You're the 'living Je'daii dream,' I'm an Imperial version of Princess Leia ... and here's the smuggler," Jaina greeted, smiling as Anakin joined them, a Bisselian ale in his hand.

"HA! I don't have any furry co-pilots anymore, unless you count Bangor," 'Kin laughed, finding a seat at Jaina's right. He smiled as Tahiri slipped outside - barefoot at last (she'd respected the hygiene-obsessed court rules about footwear at dinner) - and curled up beside him in a large lounge chair.

"My husband, the Jedi rebel," Tahiri snickered, thanking Jaina as she filled her sister-in-law's wine glass. "Ambassadorial duties are more fun than we knew."

"So, you are here representing Sekot. Making sure there's no disruption with the Ascendancy as ZS passes by?" Jacen asked, curious.

Tahiri nodded, while Anakin said, "The Yuuzhan Vong survivors are doing better. They've found a main-sequence yellow sun with a stable planetesimal belt, so Zonama Sekot doesn't have to risk hyperspace travel. S-thread trunk lines like the old Endor Pipeline are still controversial with Csilla, though."

Jacen raised an eyebrow - this was news to him. "You've visited the Ascendancy? That's ... progress," he said, pleasantly surprised.

Anakin blushed, while Tahiri gave him a teasing look and said, "More like gate-crashed. But Cha'formbi'trano was understanding about a teleporting bantha."

Jaina giggled, while Jacen had to shake his head and grin. "Oh, Anakin. Don't ever change - and yeah, I know the irony of that coming from me," he laughed.

"To the Solobrats! If we can't negotiate a peaceful solution, we chase it down a hallway while we scream wildly," Jaina toasted, and the others echoed her.

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Exquisitely candid conversation. Jaina and Jacen can talk to one another like to none else. You show the family dynamics - misperceptions and regrets all melded together. I like Jacen here. He's easy to talk to and he listens. Jaina and Leia are too much alike. Leia is very other-focused, whereas Han - he could care less than two figs about political correctness. Family comes first.

 

Thank you very much. I was quite pleasantly surprised to see this at the top of Page 1 again.

- Thanks again,
Onderon1